Anna Gavalda is a renowned French teacher and award-winning novelist, known for her engaging storytelling and wit. Often referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker," Anna was born on 9 December 1970 in Boulogne-Billancourt, an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as a French teacher in high school, she published a collection of short stories in 1999, titled Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part. This work was met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling over three-quarters of a million copies in France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book has been translated into numerous languages and sold in twenty-seven countries, with its North American release in 2003 titled I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere.