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obituary

Gil Courtemanche in 2003

Quebec journalist and author Gil Courtemanche, whose novel on Rwanda was translated into 23 languages, died early Friday from cancer, his publisher les Editions du Boreal said.

Courtemanche, who was born in 1943 and became a journalist in 1962, was recognized for his analysis of international politics for a variety of media.

These included Radio-Canada, the French-language network of the CBC; Quebec City Le Soleil; and most recently Montreal Le Devoir.

He was also one of the co-founders of the now-defunct sovereigntist newspaper "Le Jour" in the 1970s.

Un dimanche à la piscine a Kigali, which recounts the Rwandan genocide of 1994, was published in 2000. It was translated into English as A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali in 2003 and made into the acclaimed film Un dimanche à Kigali in 2006.

Another of his books, Une belle mort, was also adapted for the screen in 2010.

He is survived by his mother, daughter, granddaughter, four sisters and one brother. Funeral plans were not immediately announced.

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