Ryad Assani-Razaki (born November 4, 1981) is a Beninese-

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer."Newcomers' struggles on book-award short list: Toronto resident wins nod for 11 stories inspired by individuals he met while an illegal immigrant". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', June 22, 2010. His debut short story collection ''Deux cercles'' won the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award (french: Prix littéraire Trillium or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is ov ...

for French-language fiction in 2010, and his novel ''La main d'Iman'' won the

Prix Robert-Cliche The Prix Robert-Cliche is a literary prize created in 1979 to honour Robert Cliche, a Quebec lawyer, judge and politician. The prize is awarded annually for an original French language work by a Canadian author who has not previously published a nov ...

in 2011 and 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 ...

in 2012. Born in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, Assani-Razaki first moved to North America in 1999, to study computer science at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. After graduating in 2002, he struggled to find a job until registering for a master's in computer science at the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

in 2004. He wrote his first short story in 2006, after witnessing an Asian man struggle to order food in a fast food restaurant because of his difficulties with the language. ''Deux cercles'' was published in 2009.

Awards

* 2010 Trillium Poetry Prize * 2011

* 2012

Gallery

Ryad Assani-Razaki, Sonja Finck, Heine Haus Düss. 19.3.14.jpg, Ryad Assani-Razaki, Sonja Finck, Heine Haus Düss Ryad Assani-Razaki, Freiburg 13.3.2014.jpg, Ryad Assani-Razaki Ryad Assani-Razaki, Christhard Läpple, Leipziger Buchmesse 2014.jpg, Christhard Läpple, Ryad Assani-Razak at the Leipziger book fair

References

21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers Black Canadian writers Beninese emigrants to Canada Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Canadian novelists in French Canadian short story writers in French Writers from Toronto Living people People from Cotonou Beninese novelists Beninese male short story writers Beninese short story writers 1981 births University of North Carolina alumni Université de Montréal alumni 21st-century Canadian male writers {{Canada-writer-stub