Photo credit: John Bregar
Ryad Assani-Razaki was born in 1981 in Cotonou in the West African state of Benin. His writing, something he already began in early youth, remains influenced today more than anything else by his regular visits to Benin. In 2009, his short story collection Deux cercles (tr. Two Circles), was awarded the the Trillium Book Award. His debut novel, the Governor General’s award-nominated La main d’Iman (2011; tr. The Hand of Iman), drew from many years of research to create from the stories of people who otherwise remain unheard, in a prototypical, fictitious state in Africa as the location where the story takes place.
Books
