Edem Awumey was born in Lomé, Togo. He is the author of five previous novels. Descent into Night, the English translation of Explication de la nuit (2013), won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation in 2018. His other novels are Port-Melo (2006), which won the Grand prix littéraire d’Afrique noire; Les pieds sales (2009), which was a finalist for the Prix Goncourt in France; Rose déluge (2011); and Mina parmi les ombres (2018), which was translated into English as Mina Among the Shadows (2020). Dirty Feet (2011), the English translation of Les pieds sales, was selected for the Dublin Impac Award. Descent into Night and Mina Among the Shadows were translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott. Edem Awumey lives in Gatineau, Quebec.
