Olivier Rolin was born in 1947 in Paris. Part of his childhood was spent in Africa (Sénégal), followed by classical literary studies in Paris. In 1967, he entered the cole Normale Supérieure, one of the most prestigious French “Grandes coles.” In his twenties, he joined the Maoist far-left in France, a period he related in his novel Paper Tiger, translated into Chinese in 2012. He worked as a journalist for a while as literary critic and reporter, and since the late 70’s he has been a chief editor with Le Seuil, one of France’s most prominent publishing houses.
