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Ondjaki

Ndalu de Almeida
Ondjaki in 2012
Ondjaki in 2012
Born (1977-07-05) 5 July 1977 (age 47)
Luanda, Angola
Pen nameOndjaki
OccupationWriter
LanguagePortuguese
PeriodPost-Colonial Africa
Notable worksOs Transparentes
Notable awardsPrémio Literário António Paulouro (2005)

Grande Prémio de Conto Camilo Castelo Branco (2007)
Grinzane for Africa Prize (2008)
Prémio Jabuti de Literatura (2010)
José Saramago Prize (2013)

Prémio Littérature-Monde (2016)

Ndalu de Almeida (born July 5, 1977) is a writer born in Angola who uses the pen name Ondjaki. He has written poetry, children's books, short stories, novels, drama and film scripts.

Career

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Ondjaki studied sociology at the University of Luanda, and wrote his thesis on Angolan writer Luandino Vieira. In 1989, he received his Doctorate in African Studies in. Ondjaki's literary debut came in 2000 with the poetry book Actu Sanguíneu, which was followed up with the childhood memoir Bom dia, camaradas ("Good Morning, comrades"), in 2001. To date (2024) his body of work includes five novels, four collections of short stories, six collections of poetry and six children's books. He has also made a documentary film, May Cherries Grow, about his native city. His books have been translated to French, Spanish, Italian, German, Serbian, English, Polish and Swedish. Grandma Nineteen and the Soviets' Secrets is his most recent book in English (Spring 2014).

In 2008 Ondjaki was awarded the Grinzane for Africa Prize in the category of Best Young Writer. In 2012, he was named by Zukiswa Wanner in The Guardian as one of the "top five African writers" (alongside Léonora Miano, H. J. Golakai, Chika Unigwe and Thando Mgqolozana).[1] He is one of 39 writers aged under 40 from sub-Saharan Africa who in April 2014 were chosen as part of the Hay Festival's prestigious Africa39 project.[2]

In October 2010 he won the Premio Jabuti, in the juvenile category, with the book AvóDezanove e o Segredo do Soviético. In 2013 he was awarded the José Saramago Prize for his novel Os Transparentes.

Awards and recognition

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Works in translation

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Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ Wanner, Zukiswa (6 September 2012). "Zukiswa Wanner's top five Angolan writers". The Guardian.
  2. ^ List of writers, Africa39, Hay Festival of Literature & the Arts.
  3. ^ Marco Rodrigo Almeida (29 May 2010). "Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura divulga finalistas". Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Hay Festival". www.hayfestival.com. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
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