julia kristeva (; ; born 24 june 1941) is a bulgarian-french philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, psychoanalyst, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has lived in france since the mid-1960s. she is now a professor emeritus at the university paris diderot. the author of more than 30 books, including "powers of horror", "tales of love", "black sun: depression and melancholia", "proust and the sense of time", and the trilogy "female genius", she has been awarded commander of the legion of honor, commander of the order of merit, the holberg international memorial prize, the hannah arendt prize, and the vision 97 foundation prize, awarded by the havel foundation.