Khalil Diallo was announced the winner of Prix Aminata Sow Fall for Creativity, for his manuscript The Spring of Regrets in Dakar, Senegal on Sunday, November 25, 2019.
Aminata Sow Fall is a Senegalese author considered the first published woman novelist from francophone Black Africa. Some of her most popular books are La Greve Des Battu (1979), translated into English as The Beggars’ Strike (1981), and L’Appel Des Arènes (The Call of the Arena). She has been awarded many times for her work with among others the Grand Prix littéraire d’Afrique noire for La Grève des bàttu in 1980 and the Prix International Alioune Diop for L’Appel des arènes in 1982.
The Aminata Sow Fall Prize for Creativity is a manuscript prize set up by Senegal’s Directorate of Books and Reading as part of the International Book Fair and didactic materials (FILDAK) literary bonanza in 2013. The competition is organized in partnership with the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) to ” generate a taste for creativity and promote and support young creators in the field of literature.” Previous winners of the prize have been Ndèye Fatou Fall Dieng (2017), Malado Woury KA (2015), and Maty Seck (2013).
This year’s competition had a total of 26 manuscripts, 10 poetry collections, six short story collections and 10 novels, judged by a jury chaired by publisher Dominique Zouemba. The panel selected Khalil Diallo as the winner for his manuscript The Spring of Regrets.
“Respect for the chosen genre, the originality of the theme and the quality of the language prevailed in the choice of the winner,” the statement revealing the winner said.
The award ceremony hosted at the Place du Souvenir Africain in Dakar had the writer receive a trophy and the sum of one million CFA francs. In attendance were Aminata Sow Fall, Birane Niang the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture and Communication, among others.
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