Pan Bouyoucas was born in Lebanon, of Greek parents, in 1946, and came to Canada in 1963. After studies in architecture, in Montreal and New York City, he obtained a BFA (theatre and film) at Concordia University, and worked a few years as a film critic. He published his first novel in 1975. In 1977, he left on a 3-year journey across Europe and Greece. When he returned to Montreal, he wrote mostly for the theatre, in English and French, as writer-in-residence at Centaur Theatre, then Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui. Since 1995, he has written six novels, a collection of short stories, and a book for children.

Forthcoming:

The Man Who Wanted to Drink Up the Sea
Filip Visnjic A.D. Publishing and Centrepolygraph

Novels:

The Man Who Wanted to Drink Up the Sea
Cormorant, 2006, Les Allusifs

Anna Pourquoi
Les Allusifs, 2004

• Finalist, Prix des collégiens
• Winner, Prix littéraire des collégiens
• Finalist, Le livre élu, France, 2005

L'Autre
Les Allusifs, 2001

• Finalist, The Governor General’s Literary Awards
• Finalist, The Prix Marcel-Couture du Salon du Livre de Montréal

La Vengeance d'un Père
Libre Expression, 1997
published as A Father's Revenge Guernica Editions, 2001

• Finalist, The Prix Ringuet de l’Académie des lettres du Québec

L'Humoriste et L'Assassin
Libre Expression, 1996 and Club Québec-Loisirs, 1997

Une Bataille d'Amérique
Editions Quinze, 1976

Le Dernier Souffle
Editions du Jour, 1975

Short Stories:

Docteur Loukoum
Editions Trait d’union, 2000

Children's books:

Thésée et le Minotaure
Editions 400 coups, 2003

• Finalist, The Governor General’s Literary Awards

Theatre:

Hypatie
Prix des Journées d’auteurs, Théâtre des Célestins, Lyon, 1999
Translated into English, Italian and Serbian.

Nocturne
Translated into Italian and Russian.

Lionel
Prix TNM du théâtre épique, 1994
Translated into English.

• shortlisted (Honourable Mention),
  The 2003 Herman Voaden National Playwriting Award

Le Cerf-Volant
1992. Translated into English.

Three Cops on a Roof
1990. Translated into French.

Divided We Stand
(original title for Montreal’s Centaur Theatre production:
From the Main to Mainstreet)

• was Canadian Stage’s biggest box-office success ever,
  and Toronto’s 1991 biggest hit.

Kill the Music

• Screener’s Award, Quebec Drama Festival, 1986

Le Pourboire

• Screener’s Award, Quebec Drama Festival, 1986
• First prize, Concours Radiophonique de Radio-Canada
• Concours de la Communauté radiophonique des programmes de langue française, Paris, 1983

Translations:

Pan has translated fifteen books from English to French, including:

Ombre de Maggie (Jackrabbit Moon)
by Sheila McLeod Arnopoulos, Libre Expression, 2000

• 2002 Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for translation

Work on offer:

The Man Who Wanted to Drink Up the Sea is part Homeric quest, part surrealist playground, and part Fellini fantasy. Sound strange? Well it is at times – strange and enchanting in the tradition of The Odyssey, Candide and Amarcord. Bursting with creativity and originality, it is the journey of Lukas of Montreal who embarks on a peculiar kind of quest to find the girl he abandoned back in Greece when he was a young boy.

After spending too many a night haunted by the memory of a long-deceased girlfriend Zephira, Lukas, convinced that dreams are where the dead and the living meet at night, hides in the seclusion of his garage, pops a sleeping pill and embarks on a dream pilgrimage to find his childhood sweetheart, Zephira.

Asleep like the dead (since he mistakenly leaves the car running in the garage) he finds himself in a psychological netherworld populated by a weird cast of characters, some he knows personally, some only historically. There are the ghosts of his present and past, such as his wife; his boyhood friend Aris; his father; his grade-school arch enemy Nestor; and then there are cameos from Marilyn Munroe and the remains of the Goddess Artemis. To his amazement (and the reader's) these apparitions are seemingly awaiting his arrival in this subconscious underworld where he will relentlessly encounter one bizarre adventure after another - even discovering his mother in bed with Mussolini (?!) while paramedics and doctors try to bring him back to life.

One thing is certain: Lukas of Montreal is on an epic quest, turned desperate pursuit, to find Zephira and discover why she has been haunting him. The resolution? You must read to find out.

Pan Bouyoucas has a substantial literary career behind him in Quebec (and France) where he is well known for numerous literary accomplishments: his novels (L'Autre was shortlisted for the GG and the Prix Marcel-Couture du Salon du Livre); short stories; children's books (Thésée et le Minotaure was shortlisted for the GG); and numerous award-winning plays, some with record sales for their venues (Montreal's Centaur Theatre). Pan is also a talented translator (fifteen books thus far) from English to French and the 2002 Quebec Writer's Federation Prize for translation.

"The Man Who wanted to Drink up the Sea is an apt, entertaining bedside read...refreshingly imaginative."
     - The Montreal Gazette

World Rights Available Ex:
Canada:	English Canada, Cormorant – March 25th, 2006
French:	Les Allusifs
Serbia:	Filip Visnjic A.D. Publishing
Russia:	Centrepolygraph