Born in Douala, Cameroon, in 1973, Léonora Miano is one of the most important voices in francophone literature. Novelist, playwright, and essayist, she is the author of nearly twenty books in which she explores singular and universal experiences of sub-Saharan or Afro-descendant peoples. She received the prix Fémina and the Grand prix du roman métis in 2013 for her novel Season of the Shadow, which was published to great acclaim by Seagull Books in 2018. Miano conceptualized and curates the Quilombola series of books at Seagull, and is also the founder and director of Quilombo Publishing based in Lomé, Togo.

Léonora Miano’s Festival appearance is generously supported by the French Embassy.