Biographie

Stephan Valentin

Novelist, screenwriter, and Doctor of Psychology

Stephan Valentin - novelist, screenwriter, and Doctor of Psychology - was born in Heidelberg, Germany. Since the age of 20 he has lived in Paris, where he began studying drama at the Jean Perimony School of Drama. After three years at Jean Perimony, Stephan received La Class Libre scholarship at the Cours Florent School of Drama. He continued his studies at the University Rene Descartes in Paris with a new focus on psychology. Graduating with a doctorate in psychology, the results of Stephan's thesis, Sleep Problems in the German Infant, were published in The American Journal of Pediatrics. 
 

After graduation, Stephan spent several years as a practicing psychologist for hospitals in Paris. He also worked as a volunteer in hospitals for the impoverished in Mumbai, India, and in a psychiatric facility in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Stephan's literature career was launched in 1999 after he received the Bettina von Arnim award for literature, the most prestigious award for short stories in Germany. Stephan's short story, The Pigeon Tour, was the winner from more than 5,500 entries.

Stephan's first novel, Der Ameisenfeind or The Enemy of the Ants (Pfefferkorn Verlag, 2000) was published in French by Actes Sud (2003); Italian by Neri Pozza Editore (2006) and Danish by Forlaget Per Kofod (2007). The Enemy of the Ants is the story of Jonas, a young boy who responds quite violently to the confusing and frustrating world of the impaired adults around him. Despite his violent outbursts, it is clear that at heart Jonas is simply a lonely child longing for the unconditional but often complicated love of his troubled mother. The Enemy of the Ants is also the first novel bearing the UNICEF logo. The film version of The Enemy of the Ants, which is currently in pre-production in Germany, is expected to generate ever more international interest in the works of this talented author. Stephan also wrote the screenplay.


Stephan has also published a series of short stories in Germany, including Vielfarben (Pfefferkorn Verlag 2002), concerning sleep disturbances in infants, Mein Kind schläft durch (Econ Verlag, 2005) and a second novel, Weisse Eichen (Pfefferkorn Verlag, 2007). He also recently completed a non-fiction narrative about child obesity, Wenn Kinder zu viel wiegen (dtv, 2008). Stephan is also currently collaborating with illustrator Jean-Claud Gibert on a children's book and has signed a contract over 9 books (all non-fiction) with the Editions Jouvence.

Among his other accomplishments, Stephan Valentin is also a writer for the popular German-TV crime
series SOKO 5113.