Dany Laferriere was born in Port au Prince, Haiti. He grew up in the village of Petit Goave, Haiti. After his studies, he started working in journalism in a newspaper and on radio, mostly as a cultural reporter. During the reign of the Duvalier life wasn’t easy and as a journalist he often criticized the government. In 1976 after the death of his friend and colleague, Gasner Raymond, fearing for his safety he left Port-au-Prince for Montréal, Canada, where he found work, and also started to write. His first novel was published in 1985: Comment faire l’amour avec un negre sans se fatiguer (How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired). Also at the same time, he renewed with journalism in different television station in the province of Quebec. He has published many novels and received many literary prizes. In 1991, he received le Prix Carbet de la Caraibe for his novel, L’Odeur du cafe. In 1993, he received the Prix Edgar-Lesperance for his novel pour Le Gout des jeunes filles. In 2002 he received the Prix RFO du Livre for: Cette Grenade dans la main du jeune negre est-elle une arme ou un fruit? In 2004 he directed his first film from his script: Comment conquerir l’Amerique en une nuit which was shown at Montréal Festival des Films du monde. He is one of the rare writers of his generation to be as well known in English or French Canada.
[source: IMDb] [v-13]