SHORT BIOGRAPHY
Léonora Miano is a Franco-Cameroonian writer whose work explores sub-Saharan and Afro-descendant experiences and reflects on questions of memory, identity, belonging, and the historical and political dynamics of a globalised world.
Born in 1973 in Douala, Cameroon, Miano moved to France in 1991 to study American literature, first in Valenciennes and later in Nanterre. After living in France for many years, she settled in Togo, where she has resided since 2019. Her debut novel, L’Intérieur de la nuit (2005), received widespread critical acclaim and several literary prizes.
Over the course of her career, Miano has published numerous novels, essays, and collective works engaging with the history of the African diaspora, colonial memory, and the concept of Afropean identity. A key publication on this theme is Afropea: Utopie post-occidentale et post-raciste (2020). In recognition of her intellectual engagement and literary contribution, the “Frontières Léonora Miano” literary prize was established in 2020.
Selected honours and awards
2014 — Chevalière de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)
2013 — Prix Femina, for La saison de l’ombre
2007 — Prix de l’Excellence Camerounaise
2006 — Prix Goncourt des Lycéens, for Contours du jour qui vient
2006 — Prix René-Fallet, for L’Intérieur de la nuit
2006 — Prix Louis-Guilloux, for L’Intérieur de la nuit
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Miano, Léonora. Afropea: Utopie post-occidentale et post-raciste. Grasset, 2020.
—. Contours du jour qui vient. Plon, 2006.
—. Crépuscule du tourment. Vol. 1. Grasset, 2016.
—. Crépuscule du tourment. Vol. 2. Grasset, 2017.
—. Écrits pour la parole. L’Arche, 2012.
—. La saison de l’ombre. Grasset, 2013.
—. L’Autre langue des femmes. Grasset, 2021.
—. L’Intérieur de la nuit. Plon, 2005.
—. Rouge impératrice. Grasset, 2019.
—. Stardust. Grasset, 2022.
Miano, Léonora, editor. Volcaniques: Une anthologie du plaisir. Mémoire d'encrier, 2015.
