Congratulations to mia couto and his english translator david brookshaw. Mia couto, born in beira, mozambique, in 1955, is one of the most prominent writers in portuguesespeaking africa. Indian author amitav ghosh on 24 march 2015 was shortlisted for the 2015 man booker international prize. Mia couto amitav ghosh fanny howe alain mabanckou marlene van niekerk the 2015 judges. Mia coutos stories of civilisation and barbarity are told through a language that is precise and profound. The booker prize for fiction, formerly known as the bookermcconnell prize 19692001 and the man booker prize 20022019, is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the english language and published in the united kingdom. Man booker international prize 2015 finalists list announced. Man group sponsors both the man booker international prize and the annual man booker prize. Couto incorporates a dualnarrative technique and fantastical elements in. In 2015, he was a finalist for the man booker international prize. A fable of mozambique, its bloodshed and myths the new. The introduction of the international prize to complement the man booker prize was announced in june 2004.
Confession of the lioness by mia couto penguin books. Mia couto mozambique couto, 59, was born in mozambique to portuguese emigre parents and has been described by henning mankell as a white man with an african soul. Devices such as diary entries, letter writing, firsthand accounts, magical realism, and proverbs conspire to tell the story of the fate of a poor village after the end of the civil war in mozambique ca. The international booker prize backlist the booker prizes. Who is in the running for the man booker international prize. The stone of laughter was the first arabic work to have a gay man as its main character. Neustadt prizewinner mia couto, the author of confessions of a lioness.
The first book of the trilogy is woman of the ashes, which was nominated for the 2017 man booker international prize. The finalists for the man booker international prize 2015 include south african author marlene van niekerk. Sponsored by the man group, from 2005 until 2015 the award was given every two years to a living author of any nationality for a body of. I love his writing style, full of delicious expressions that transports me to mozambique immediately. A book of short stories by mia couto, a verywell know mozambican writer, shortlisted for 2015 man booker international prize. Couto, one of mozambiques most prominent writers and a finalist for the 2015 man booker international prize, relies on recurring motifs that. Whats your favorite book from a literary tradition other than your own and how has it influenced your writing. He was also shortlisted for the 2017 international dublin literary award and was a finalist for the man booker international prize in 2015. Confession of the lioness by mia couto world literature. Read today, against the backdrop of mia coutos preeminent stature as an awardwinning, internationally recognized narrative prose writer, these words from a wellknown interview conducted by the late michel laban more than two decades ago might sound incongruous. Becker olga tokarczuk photo by jacek kolodziejski, author of flights fitzcarraldo editions olga tokarczuk and her translator jennifer croft are shortlisted for the 2018 man booker international prize for flights words without borders. Couto has been awarded the camoes prize for literature and the prestigious neustadt international prize for literature, among other awards. Mozambican novelist mia couto has taken this story as the basis for a fictionalized trilogy about the last days of the socalled state of gaza.
The man booker international prize is significantly different from the annual man booker in that it highlights one writers overall contribution to fiction on the world stage. The 2015 man booker international prize winner will be announced at the victoria and albert museum in london on 19 may. Translated from the portuguese by david brookshaw farrar, straus and giroux farrar, straus and giroux. Mozambiques mia couto, and lebanons hoda barakat are. Nominated for the man booker international prize, mia couto s confession of the lioness tackles large issues in deceptively simple ways. The man booker international prize is the only literary.
The mentorship began as couto was finishing the second volume of his trilogy, the. He has won the camoes prize for literature, the neustadt international prize for literature. The man booker international prize recognizes an author for their achievement in fiction. The african writers are mia couto of mozambique, marlene van niekerk of south africa, ibrahim alkoni of libya and alain mabanckou of the republic of congo.
Mia couto lives with his family in maputo, mozambique, where he works as an environmental consultant and a theatre director. None of the writers has previously been up for the prize. After studying medicine and biology in maputo, he worked as a journalist and headed several mozambican national newspapers and magazines. He has won many awards, including the 2014 neustadt international prize for literature, and has been selected for the 2015 man booker international prize shortlist. Nominated for the man booker international prize, mia coutos confession of the lioness tackles large issues in deceptively simple ways.
In the past the finalists have been announced in toronto, new york and sydney and this is the first time the announcement was made on the african. Man booker international prize finalists announced in cape. In january 2007 he was awarded the padma shri, one of indias highest honours, by the president of india. The man booker international prize 2015 nominees were announced in cape town at the university of cape town today. Man booker international prize 2015 shortlist announced.
He is the only indian among the 10 finalists shortlisted for the prize. The international booker prize formerly known as the man booker international prize is an international literary award hosted in the united kingdom. He was among the six finalists of the man booker international prize 2015 with his body of work and 2017 his novel confession of the lioness was shortlisted for the international dublin literary award. Here is a list of all ten finalists and more information about the prize. Recently shortlisted for the man booker international prize, couto used his platform to condemn the attacks on foreign nationals that had. This is a land where the past and present war for control of the future.
He was also shortlisted for the 2017 impac dublin literary award and was a finalist for the man booker international prize in. The 2017 dublin literary award has released its tenstrong shortlist, and on it are nigerias chinelo okparanta for under the udala trees, mozambiques mia couto for confession of the lioness, and angolas jose eduardo agualusa for a general theory of oblivion. Mia couto um rio chamado tempo, uma casa chamada terra. He was also a finalist for the man booker international prize in 2015 and was shortlisted for the 2017 international dublin literary award. The story is set in the 21st century and inspired by real events that couto experienced and real people with whom he interacted during his work as an environmental field officer in cabo delgado, mozambique in 2008. Mia couto, an environmental biologist from mozambique, is the author of 25 books of fiction, essays and poems in his native.
The man booker international prize 2015 finalists list. Rules and how to enter the booker prize and the international booker prize submissions. Chinelo okparanta, mia couto and jose eduardo agualusa. Mia couto, shortlisted for the 2015 man booker international prize, has been creating his own utterly original take on african life for decades now, rich and lyrical works immersed in the soil and. Confession of the lioness, by mia couto financial times. His novel the tuner of silences was longlisted for the 2015 impac dublin award, while confession of the lioness was shortlisted for the award in 2017. His novel, sea of poppies 2008 was shortlisted for the man booker prize, and was awarded the crossword book prize and the india plaza golden quill award. Mia couto his books, deeply rooted in the political upheavals, languages and narratives of his native land, have been published in more than 20 countries. Mia coutos sleepwalking land is set during mozambiques civil war, but it is not a novel specifically about mozambique, its about the entire postcolonial continent. Meet mia couto, africas celebrated rebel novelist ozy. Originally published in 2012, it was translated from portuguese to english in 2015 by david brookshaw, and it was also a finalist for the man booker international prize in 2015. Fifteenyearold imani is hired as an interpreter by germano, the portuguese sergeant posted in her village.
Ten authors are contenders to receive the 2015 man booker international prize on tuesday. International man booker shortlist jury citation on almost every page we sense coutos delight in those places where language slips officialdoms. He was also shortlisted for the 2017 impac dublin literary award and was a finalist for the man booker international prize in 2015. Odds are, tomorrow ill write just for the theater, or ill stop writing altogether laban 1998, 1022. Two of his novels have been made into feature films. Libya, mozambique, guadeloupe, hungary, south africa, and congo. Mia couto mozambique amitav ghosh india fanny howe united states of.
Set in 1894, mozambique is under portugals colonial rule. Mia couto, an environmental biologist from mozambique, is the author of 25 books of fiction, essays and poems in his native portuguese. David brookshaw is an emeritus professor at the school of modern languages at the university of bristol. Praise for mia couto mia coutos stories of civilisation and barbarity are told through a language that is precise and profound. Lusophone africas most successful writer, shortlisted for the man booker international prize earlier this year, couto also runs a company that conducts environmental impact assessments i like to divide myself, while writing for the press and for a maputo theatre group. Coutos novels and short story collections have been translated into 20 languages. Ten writers up for man booker international prize bbc news.
Man booker international prize 2015 finalists list. The shortlist was arrived at from a longlist of 147 books. The biannual award recognizes a living authors entire body of work. Confession of the lioness is a novel written by awardwinning mozambican author mia couto. To give birth to his embattled world, couto, a recent finalist for the man booker international prize, draws from a trove of historical documents, alternating between the perspective of. The second novel in the exhilarating sands of the emperor trilogy, following the man booker international prize finalist woman of the ashes. The sixthman booker international prize, which is worth.