David Diop (born February 24, 1966) is a French novelist and academic, who specializes in 18th-century French and Francophone African literature. His research, at the University of Pau in south-west France, focuses on representations of Africa in 18th-century accounts and images by travellers. Diop received the 2021

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

for his novel ''

At Night All Blood Is Black ''At Night All Blood Is Black'' () is a novel by French author David Diop (novelist), David Diop. First published in French on August 16, 2018, by Éditions du Seuil, it won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens that same year. The English translation ...

'' as the first French author (translated by

Anna Moschovakis Anna Elizabeth Moschovakis is a Greek American poet, author, and translator. Early life Moschovakis was born to an American mother and a Greek father. She split her time growing up between the U.S. and Greece, where her father owned what she ...

). The novel was also shortlisted for ten French awards and won them in other countries.

Biography

David Diop was born in Paris in 1966 to a French mother and a Senegalese father. He moved to

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

at the age of five and spent the majority of his childhood in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

before returning to study in France at the age of 18 after finishing high school. Diop received a doctorate from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

for his studies on 18th-century French literature. In 1998, he became a lecturer in literature at the

University of Pau and the Adour Region The University of Pau and the Adour Region (French language, French: ''L'Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour'', often known by the initialism ''UPPA'') is a multi-site, public university located in southwestern France. Founded in 1972, it is ...

specialising in 18th-century French literature and in African French literature. In 2009 he was appointed to head a research group on the representation of Africa and Africans in 17th- and 18th-century European literature. He received his habilitation in 2014. Diop now heads the arts, languages, and literature department at the university. He lives in Pau.

Early works

He published his first book, a work of historical fiction titled ''1889, l'Attraction universelle'', in 2012. The novel describes the experiences of 11 members of a Senegalese delegation to the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. In 2018, he published his first full-length scholarly work, ''Rhétorique nègre au xviii^e siècle'', which deals with the representation of Africans in 18th-century travel writing and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

texts.

''At Night All Blood Is Black'' / ''Frère d'âme''

Diop's second novel, ''Frère d'âme'', which interweaves the history of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the history of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

, was published in 2018. The novel describes the experiences of

Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...

fighting for France in the trenches. The main character, Alfa Ndiaye, descends into madness following the death of a childhood friend and inflicts extreme brutality upon his German enemies. Diop was inspired to write the book by his French great-grandfather's service during the war. Diop stated "He never said anything to his wife, or to my mother, about his experience. That is why I was always very interested by all the tales and accounts which gave one access to a form of intimacy with that particular war." Because his great-grandfather refused to speak about the war Diop read many published accounts regarding the Tirailleurs' service. ''Frère d'âme'' was shortlisted for the

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

, the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

, the

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

and the

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works writte ...

and six other French literary prizes. In 2018 Diop received the Students' Prix Goncourt for the novel. He also won the Swiss Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma. ''Frère d'âme'' was published in English translation in November 2020 under the title ''At Night All Blood Is Black''. It won the 2020 ''Los Angeles Times'' Fiction Book Prize. Together with his translator

, with whom he split the £50,000 winnings, he won ⁦the 2021

. This made him the first French author and first person of an African heritage to win the prize. The novel is being translated into 13 languages. The Italian translation has won the Strega European Prize, and the Dutch translation has won the .

References

External links

"David Diop Wins International Booker Prize for “At Night All Blood Is Black”, Book on Tirailleurs Senegalais"
''African Heritage'', 28 June 2021.
"David Diop: his haunting account of a Senegalese soldier that won the Booker prize"
''

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Robe ...

'', 3 June 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Diop, David 1966 births 21st-century French male writers 21st-century French novelists Academic staff of the University of Pau and the Adour Region Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners French people of Senegalese descent Living people French male novelists International Booker Prize winners French historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age