Edem Awumey (born 1975 in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

) is a Togolese-Canadian writer. Born in

and educated in France, he has lived in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

since 2005."Le Québécois Edem Awumey en lice pour le Goncourt"
'' La Presse'', September 15, 2009. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''Port-Mélo'' won the

Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire The Grand prix littéraire d'Afrique noire (one of the major literary prizes of Black Africa for Francophone Literature) is a literary prize presented every year by the ADELF, the Association of French Language Writers for a French original text ...

in 2006,Edem Awumey
. Montreal Black History Month. and his second novel ''Les Pied sales'' was a shortlisted nominee 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 ...

in 2009. ''Dirty Feet'', an English translation of ''Les Pieds sales'' by

Lazer Lederhendler Lazer Lederhendler is a Canadian literary translator and academic."A literary translator's colourful, unlikely tale". ''Montreal Gazette'', December 17, 2016. A four-time nominee for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation, ...

, was also a shortlisted nominee for the 2011

Governor General's Award for French to English translation This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Governor General's Literary Awards * Translation awar ...

and the 2012

ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

for fiction. His third novel, ''Rose déluge'', was published in 2011, and his fourth, ''Explication de la nuit'', was published in 2013. He is also the author of ''Tierno Monénembo: le roman de l'exil'', a critical study of the work of

Tierno Monénembo Thierno Saïdou Diallo, usually known as Tierno Monénembo (born 1947 in Porédaka), is a Francophone Guinean novelist and biochemist. Born in Guinea, he later lived in Senegal, Algeria, Morocco, and finally France since 1973. He has written eight b ...

. At the 2018 Governor General's Awards, Phyllis Aronoff and

Howard Scott Howard Scott (April 1, 1890 – January 1, 1970) was an American engineer and founder of the Technocracy movement. He formed the Technical Alliance and Technocracy Incorporated. Early life Little is known about Scott's background or his early lif ...

won the Governor General's Award for French to English translation for ''Descent Into Night'', the English translation of ''Explication de la nuit''. His most recent novel, ''Mina parmi les ombres'', was published in fall 2018. It was shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...

at the 2019 Governor General's Awards.Yves Bergeras
"Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général: Edem Awumey parmi les finalistes"
''

Le Droit ''Le Droit'' is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias ...

'', October 2, 2019.

References

1975 births Canadian male novelists Togolese writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Togolese emigrants to Canada Black Canadian writers Writers from Gatineau People from Lomé Living people Canadian novelists in French 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Togolese writers {{Quebec-writer-stub