Nigerian writer, novelist and satirist, Elnathan John has been announced as the winner of the 2019 Prix Les Afriques for Né un Mardi, the French translation of his novel Born On A Tuesday.
The award was created by the association La Cene Littéraire, and presented annually to a writer of African descent whose fiction work highlights a human, societal, ideological, political, cultural, economic or historical issue related to Africa or its diaspora.
The Prix Les Afriques also aims at giving exposure to African authors and authors of African descent. The most recent winners include Kei Miller (2018), Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin (2017) and Hemley Boum (2016).
The jury for this year’s award were: professor of literature, writer and jury president Ambroise Kom, writer Théo Ananissoh, writer & literature professor Boubacar Boris Diop, writer Koulsy Lamko, and medical doctor with a passion for the written word Hortense Sime.
The president of award jury, Kom, described the novel as “a powerful first novel, perfectly handled, that immerses us in contemporary Nigeria, paints a complex portrait of the West African giant in full mutation and in the grip of an unprecedented religious, social and economic crisis.” Né un Mardi translated into French by Celine Schwaller was published by Anne-Marie Métailié in 2018.
The winner will receive a cash prize of €5,400, artwork worth €3000 and the purchase of 100 copies of the winning book at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland on June 29, 2019.
Congratulations to Elnathan John!
