Julia Verlanger (1929–1985)

Éliane Taïeb, née Grimaître, was a French science fiction writer who published under the pen names Gilles Thomas and Julia Verlanger. She was a prolific and influential writer of more than 20 books, beginning with Les Portes sans Retour (The Gates of No Return), published in 1976. These included a cycle of three post-apocalyptic novels, L'autoroute sauvage (The Savage Highway, 1976), La mort en billes (The Marbled Death, 1977) and L'île brûlée (The Burned Island, 1979). Most of her other books take place in a fictional universe. After her death at age 55 in 1985, her husband Jean-Pierre Taïeb created the Prix Julia-Verlanger, administered by the Fondation de France. It is awarded annually to a science fiction work.