Alain Mabanckou, a professor of French and Francophone studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been named a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize. The prize is awarded every two years in recognition of an author’s “continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage.” Thus, the honor is given in recognition of an author’s entire body of work, not just a single book of fiction.
Professor Mabanckou is a native of the Congo. He taught at the University of Michigan for three years before joining the faculty at UCLA in 2006. Four of his books have been translated from French into English including African Psycho (Transition Books, 2007), Broken Glass (Soft Skull Press, 2010), Memoirs of a Porcupine (Soft Skull Press, 2012) and Black Bazaar (Serpent’s Tail, 2012).
Professor Mabanckou is one of 10 finalists for the award. The winner will be announced on May 19 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and he or she will receive a cash prize of £60,000.
