Joseph Ponthus, born in 1978, lives and works in Brittany. After studying literature in Reims and social work in Nancy, he worked for more than ten years as a specialist educator in the suburbs of Paris, where he directed and published Nous… la Cité (Éditions Zones, 2012). His first novel, À la ligne, was published in January 2019. It was awarded the Grand Prix RTL/Lire, the Prix Régine Deforges, the Prix Jean Amila-Meckert, the Prix du Premier Roman des lecteurs des bibliothèques de la Ville de Paris, and the Prix Eugène Dabit du Roman populiste.

Josph Ponthus died from cancer in February 2021.