Michel Janicot del Castillo (2 August 1933 – 17 December 2024) was a French writer.
His father, Michel Janicot, was French and his mother, Cándida Isabel del Castillo, was Spanish.
Interned in the concentration camp Rieucros in Mende with his mother during the Second World War,[1] he developed a sense of belonging to this town, which has honoured him by naming a school after him.
Influenced by Miguel de Unamuno and Fyodor Dostoevsky, his books received many literary prizes, namely Prix Chateaubriand for Le Silence des Pierres (1975); Renaudot for La nuit du Décret (1981); Prix Maurice Genevoix for Rue des Archives (1994); Prix de l’Écrit Intime for Mon frère l’Idiot (1995); and Prix Femina essai for Colette, une Certaine France (1999).
[2] Aside from travelling, he was very keen on classical music, and considered at some point making a career as a pianist.