David Diop

(Paris, 1966) grew up in Senegal. He is a Professor of Literature at the University of Pau, in south-western France. In his work - poetry, novels and academic publications - Diop explores European perceptions of the African continent and Africans, with a focus on the shared history of Senegal and France. His debut novel 1889, l'Attraction universelle (2012) tells of a delegation of Senegalese who were shown as exotic curiosities at the World's Fair in Paris in 1889. His masterful second novel Frère d'âme (At Night All Blood is Black, 2019) brought Diop international recognition after it was awarded the International Booker Prize 2021, the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens and the Premio Strega Europeo. The novel topped the French bestseller list for weeks. Like At Night All Blood is Black, his novel La porte du voyage sans retour (2022) highlights a period of colonial history.