Senegalese writer Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané has been selected as the 2017 winner of the Goethe-Institut & Sylt Foundation African Writer´s Residency Award (AWRA).

Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané, b. 1950 in Burkina-Faso, who lives in Dakar in Senegal right now is the recipient of the Writer’s Residency Award which she will take up at the Sylt Foundation´s headquarters in 2018. This residency opportunity is awarded annually to writers of contemporary African literature. The previous winners were Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe in 2013, Ghanaian writer and poet Nii Parkes in 2014, Ugandan writer Mildred Barya in 2015 and Nigerian Writer Abubakar Adam Ibrahim in 2016.

The Goethe-Institut & Sylt Foundation African Writer´s Residency Award (AWRA) provides a two months stay in a subsidized apartment to writers of contemporary African literature, who engage with current themes and concerns related to Africa and the African diaspora. The award is open to published writers of poetry, prose, plays and novels.

The Sylt Foundation is located on the island of Sylt off the coast of Hamburg in Germany. Its residency programme has been running for several years and offers opportunities to South African as well as international visual artists, writers, composers and film makers. The programme is managed under the directorship of literary scholar and curator Indra Wussow.

The Goethe-Institut is Germany’s cultural institute, active worldwide. They promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange.

Since 2016 the award is presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The winner was selected by independent judges out of an impressive list of strong contenders from different African countries.

The jury commented: „La question du genre en Afrique est un domaine à promouvoir. Tout comme la qualité des écrits et des analyses. En cela le projet de Mme Bonané me séduit car elle aborde les sujets avec une sensibilité et une clarté qui plongent le lecteur dans l’environnement qu’elle décrit. J’ai adoré les nouvelles qu’elle a publiées chez l’Harmattan et La fileuse d’amour m’a captivée“. 

About award winning writer and Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané
After completing secondary school in her native Burkina Faso and university studies in France, Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané started working as a French teacher at secondary school level in 1974 and at university level in 1981. Her interest in the promotion of education and further development of French teachers has seen her occupy positions as Head of Department and later as General Inspector as well as the President of the national commission responsible for French education in Senegal.
Bonané has been at the helm of several associations, including as the founding member of the Senegalese Association of French Teachers, as the National Coordinator of the Network of French Teachers for the Training of Girls and Women in Africa and as the Head of Operations for the President of the International Federation of French Teachers (FIPF).
Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané facilitates poetry and short-story workshops and regularly appears on radio and TV. In 2013 Harmattan Senegal published her short-story collection La Fileuse d’Amour. Passionate about promoting the rights of African women and girls, she has been involved in education and research as well as initiatives to prevent gender-based violence and efforts to promote female leadership. Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané is currently working on a novel titled La Servant au Grand Corps.

Winning this award Andrée-Marie Diagne Bonané commented: "I am so glad to know you selected me for this African Writers' Residency Award. I promise to use this opportunity to improve my writer career and I say Thank you very much to all the staff.“

Press release (pdf)

in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut
www.goethe.de