Fiston Nasser Mwanza Mujila (born 1981, in

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

) is a Congolese writer. He lives in

Graz, Austria Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

, where he teaches African literature.

Biography

Fiston Mwanza Mujila was the recipient of the gold medal for literature at the 2009 Francophone Games in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

for his text "The Night". In 2014, Mujila's debut novel, ''Tram 83'', was published by Éditions Métailié to considerable acclaim. In autumn 2015, an English translation (by

Roland Glasser Roland Glasser (born 1973), is a literary translator, working from French into English. Awards and honours * His translation of Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s ''Tram 83'' won the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature and was longlisted for the 2016 Man ...

) of ''Tram 83'' was published by Deep Vellum Publishing in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and received widespread praise. This translation was also published by

Jacaranda Books Jacaranda Books is a diversity-led British independent book publishing firm launched in 2012 and known for their effort tackling the gap between white authors and the BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) demographic in United Kingdom's p ...

in the UK and

Scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Other translations of ''Tram 83'' have appeared in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

. Mujila lives in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Mujila was awarded the 2015

Etisalat Prize for Literature The 9mobile Prize for Literature (formerly the Etisalat Prize for Literature 2013–16) was created by Etisalat Nigeria in 2013, and is the first ever pan-African prize celebrating first-time African writers of published fiction books.

on 19 March 2016 for ''Tram 83'', the novel having earlier been announced on the longlist for the

Man Booker International 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 ...

, and awarded the

Grand Prix of Literary Associations The Grand Prix of Literary Associations (GPLA) were launched in 2013 in Cameroon, in partnership with Brasseries du Cameroun and sponsorship by Castel Beer. The GPLA are defined as bilingual English-and-French literary prizes, some being awar ...

(Belles-Lettres Category) on 26 February 2016. He won the German

International Literature Award International Literature Award (''German'': Internationaler Literaturpreis – Haus der Kulturen der Welt) is a German literary award for international prose translated into German for the first time.2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, 114 pp. () * ''Tram 83'', Novel, Deep Vellum Publishing (Dallas), 2015, 224 pp. () * ''Et les moustiques sont des fruits à pépins'' and ''Te voir dressé sur tes deux pattes ne fait que mettre de l’huile au feu'', Play, Manage, Belgique, Éditions Lansman,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, 86 pp. (39 & 36) ()

References

External links

Official Website of Fiston Mwanza Mujila

"Tram 83, the Congolese novel that's wowing the literary world - extract"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 7 January 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mujila, Fiston Mwanza 1981 births People from Lubumbashi 21st-century novelists Democratic Republic of the Congo novelists Living people Democratic Republic of the Congo male writers Male novelists 21st-century male writers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriates 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people

Biography

See also

References

External links