The writers are the only Africans on the list so far, and are selected in the essay category for their works Faded Memory and Good Feelings.
By Hope Ibiale
African writers, Nathacha Appanah and Elgas, have been nominated in the first selection of the 2023 Prix Renaudot. The writers are the only Africans on the list so far, and are selected in the essay category for their works Faded Memory and Good Feelings. Other novels and essays selected for the prize include Ideal Conditions by Mokhtar Amoudi, What I Know About You by Eric Chacour, The Last Place by Négar Djavadi, Life and Death of Vernon Sullivan by Dimitri Kantcheloff, and many others.
Nathacha Appanah is a Mauritian-French writer. Some of her works include The Rocks of Gold Dust, The Last Brother, and others. Appanah has worked as a journalist and poet.
(Read also: Kenyan Writer, Peter Ngila Njeri, Wins 2023 James Currey Prize for African Literature)
El Hadj Souleymane Gassama, known as Elgas, is a Senegalese writer, journalist, and associate researcher. In his career, he has written several books like Un Dieu et des mœurs, Fadilou Diop, Mâle Nori, and many others.
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot is a French literary prize created in 1926. Now in its 97th year, the annual prize has continued to award writers with outstanding works. The Prix Renaudot nominates many writers in different selection stages. In the first selection, the judging panel selected 16 novels and 9 essays. The next selections will be decided on October 5th and 26th, 2023, while the overall winners will be announced on November 7th, 2023.
The judging panel for 2023 comprises Dominique Bona, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, Jean-Noël Pancrazi, Patrick Besson, Frédéric Beigbeder, Cécile Guilbert and Stéphanie Janicot.
Check the other selected authors here.