Martin Winckler

Martin Winckler (born Marc Zaffran; 22 February 1955, in French Algeria) is a French M.D. and short story, novel and essay writer. His main topics are the French medical system, the relationships between caregivers and patients and Women's Health. One of the first TV series critics in France, he has written numerous articles and books on the subject (ER; Grey's Anatomy; House, MD; Law & Order). His family emigrated from Algeria first to Israel in 1961 then to France in 1962. He was a dedicated young reader and writer. After graduating from Medical School in Tours, he practised in a small country town in Sarthe (western rural France) from 1983 to 1993. From 1983 to 1989, he worked as an editor then as assistant editor-in-chief for the independent medical journal La Revue Prescrire under his real name, Marc Zaffran.In the mid-80's, his first short stories were published under the pseudonym "Martin Winckler". This name is a tribute to the French writer Georges Perec: Gaspard Winckler is one of the main characters in La Vie mode d'emploi (Life : A User's Manual), a very important book in Marc Zaffran's literary education. His first novel La Vacation (pub. 1989) introduces the central character of his major novels, Bruno Sachs M.D., who became famous in France with his second published novel La Maladie de Sachs ; (in English The Case of Dr Sachs Translated by Linda Asher, Seven Stories Press, NY, 2000). It became a motion picture, written, produced and directed by Rosalinde and Michel Deville (1999). Albert Dupontel plays Bruno Sachs.

He opened a rural medical practice in 1983 which he left in 1993 to spend most of his time as a writer and translator. However, he remained a part-time doctor at the Le Mans public hospital, in the Abortion and Contraception clinic until 2008. His practice as a women's health physician lasted for 25 years. Many of his books were based on his experience as a medical practitioner.

Created in 2004, his web site "Winckler's Webzine" has published numerous texts about healthcare, contraception, TV serials. The "Contraception / Gynecology" section is the most frequently viewed.

In 2009 he immigrated to Montreal, Quebec where he first worked as a guest researcher at the Centre de Recherches en éthique de l'Université de Montréal (CREUM), on a research project about the training of medical personnel. He became a Canadian citizen in 2019.

Several of his books address the French medical culture and describe it as "archaic, violent and sexist and based on abuse of power".

Most of his novels and essays address patient rights, the right to accept or reject treatments, power struggles between physicians and patients, and women's health.

The Case of Dr Sachs (P.O.L, 1998) is a very detailed description of a country physician's activities, as described by patients, relatives, colleagues and friends. The book sold 300,000 copies in its first edition alone.

Les Trois Médecins (P.O.L, 2004) was inspired by Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers". It is set in a French Medical school in the 70s and tells how Bruno Sachs and three of his friends dedicated themselves to General Practice.

Le Chœur des femmes (P.O.L, 2009) is a novel set in a Women's Health Clinic in central France. Another best seller, it sold 65,000 copies in its first edition and has been a paperback best seller since 2011 (240,000 copies and counting).

En souvenir d'André (P.O.L, 2012) is a short novel whose protagonist provides Medical Assistance in Dying.

Les Brutes en Blanc ("Brutes in white coats"), an essay published in 2016, made the French medical establishment very angry by its description of ongoing and institutionalized medical brutality in France. The "Ordre des médecins" (France's medical regulatory board) issued a statement to condemn the book as "a caricature of reality". Many other books addressing the very same topic have since been published, confirming Winckler's description and analysis through extended research.

L'Ecole des soignantes (P.O.L, 2019) a Science-Fiction Novel, is the sequel to Le Choeur des femmes. Set in 2032, it describes a medical training school mostly run by female healthcare workers who have set aside all kind of hierarchy between professionals and provide care respectful of patients' preferences, choices and decisions.