Why Africa is dominating literary prizes in 2021

Senegalese novelist Mohamed Mbougar Sarr poses for the press after being awarded with the Prix Goncourt literary prize for his novel “La plus secrete memoire des hommes” ('The Most Secret Memory Of Men') in Paris on Nov 3. Photo: AFP

Some of the world's biggest literary awards, including the Nobel, Booker and Goncourt, have gone to Africans this year in a sign of the continent's emergence as a major force in publishing and a region with a direct line to the pressing questions of our time.

"We are witnessing a reawakening of interest in Africa among the European literary world," said Xavier Garnier, who teaches African literature at the Sorbonne in Paris.