Sokhna Benga is the headliner for Salon du Livre Féminin de Dakar 2025 to be held in Dakar, Senegal, from October 10 –12, 2025. The festival theme is “resistance.”
Salon du Livre Féminin de Dakar (English: Dakar Women’s Book Fair), centering books and ideas that express the vision of African women, Senegalese women in particular, was first hosted in 2022. It comprised three days of meetings, discussions, and exchanges between different disciplines of art and culture (painting, cinema, dance, music), exhibitions, conferences, activities, and more. That edition had Marietou Mbaye (Ken Bugul) as its patron with a focus on the works of Aminata Sophie Dieye (Ndeye Takhawalu) and Khady Sylla. The literary festival initiated by Les Cultur’Elles under the direction of Amina Seck had follow-up editions in 2023 and 2024.
In the three years, the headliners have been Ken Bugul (Marietou Mbaye) (2022), Awa Sene Sarr (2023), and Fatou Sow (2024). On Monday, September 15, organisers announced that this year’s headliner would be, woman of letters and conviction, Sokhna Benga. Ms. Benga is a lawyer specializing in maritime law, a graduate of the Center for Maritime Law and Economics at the University of Western Brittany, and a Maritime Affairs Administrator. After serving successively as Literary Director of Nouvelles Éditions Africaines du Sénégal (NEAS), Head of the Dakar Maritime District, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs and Cooperation at the National Agency for Maritime Affairs, Director of Maritime Operations (ANAM), Director of Maritime Safety and Marine Pollution Prevention, and Administrator of Maritime Affairs, she is currently Director of Maritime and River Transport and Ports at the National Agency for Maritime Affairs (ANAM).
Author of twenty-seven literary works, she has won numerous national and international literary awards and distinctions, including the Grand Prix du Président de la République for Literature for her novel La Balade Du Sabador.
She is a screenwriter and editor, author and screenwriter of the series L’or De Ninki Nanka.” She is the co-initiator of the biennial Festival of Encounters on the River, which supports women and children.
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