Elnathan John has won the 2019 Prix Les Afriques award for the French translation of his debut novel “Born on a Tuesday.”
The judges for this year’s prize were; writer and professor of literature Ambroise Kom, writer and professor Boubacar Boris Diop, writer Theo Ananissoh, writer Kously Lamko, and Hortense Sime.
Head of Judges Ambroise Kom said that it was “a very powerful first novel, perfectly handled, that immerses us in contemporary Nigeria, paints a complex portrait of the West African giant in full mutation and in the grip of an unprecedented religious, social and economic crisis.”
Prix Les Afriques was created by the association La Cene Littéraire which was founded by Swiss lawyer Ngoán Beti. It is awarded annually to an African writer or writer of African descent who has written fiction highlighting a human, societal, ideological, political, cultural, economic or historical issue related to African or its diaspora.
Elnathan John will receive his award of a cash prize of €5,400, artwork worth €3,000 and the purchase of 100 copies of the winning book at a ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland on June 29, 2019. His short stories “Bayan Layi” and “Flying,” were both shortlisted for the 2013 and 2015 Caine Prize for African Writing respectively.