Dakar, Dec 28 (APS) – The jury of the third edition of the ”Prix Cénacle national du livre” awarded, Friday, the novel prize to the writer Hélène Bernadette Ndong for her work ”The Innocence of Tamara ”, published by Harmattan Senegal, noted the APS.
In the poetry category, the prize was awarded to Khalil Diallo for ”The geography of absence”, published by Al Fàruq. The short story prize goes to Mamadou Dembélé with ”School stories and other anecdotes”, published by Harmattan Senegal.
”The difference was made at the net, they are all good,” commented the president of the jury, Professor Abdoulaye Racine Senghor.
According to him, ”the candidates were decided by style, respect for the rules of the genre, aesthetics, language and creative audacity”.
In addition to Professor Senghor, the jury had as other members the writers Andrée Marie Diagne, Djibril Diallo Falémé, Harouna Dior and the journalist Abdourahmane Mbengue.
The winners received their trophy and a financial reward of one million CFA francs from the representative of the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.
They were given to them during the great night of Senegalese literature organized at the Grand Théâtre National by the Cenacle of Young Writers of Senegal.
The ceremony took place in the presence of several guests, including godmother Amy Sarr Fall, president of the Citizen Intelligence club, professors and writers Fatoumata Diallo Ba and Annie Coly, as well as numerous Senegalese writers and publishers.
The novel ”The Innocence of Tamara” by Hélène Bernadette Ndong, released this year, evokes the relationship with forgiveness through the convoluted story of young Innocence and her aunt Marie Djilane, twin of her mother, Tamara.
”It’s a lot of stories and events that have inspired me, people I’ve met and interacted with throughout these years. Their lives, their stories and their relationship with forgiveness led me to architect this story in this novel,” explains the winner.
Aged 20, Hélène Bernadette Ndong, engineering student at the Polytechnic School of Thiès, winner of the general competition in philosophy in 2022, said she was very moved by this award received for her first work. She says she is honored to win this prize and welcomes the initiative of the Cenacle of Young Writers of Senegal.
She beat her competitors Alpha Daouda Ba for her novel ”The Banker” and Alassane Mbengue with ”Frissons of Society”.
In the poetry category, Khalil Diallo won the prize ahead of ”Blues Walk on the Venice of the South” by Khady Fall Faye Diagne and ”The Irresistible Attraction of the Ordinary” by Patherson.
”I welcome this award with a lot of apprehension and fear, because it is always a great moment of emotion, of stress. The price represents a certain burden, a commitment to do better. I am indebted to the members of the jury, because I no longer have the right to do less well what they judged to be good,” reacted the young writer Khalil Diallo. He wrote his book following the death of his big brother Al Fàruq.
For the short story, Mamadou Dembélé won ahead of Khadijetou Sall, author of ”Chronique d’un pays des sables”.
The aim of this literary competition organized since 2021 is to encourage communication around books and [de] support the promotion of publishing in Senegal”, according to the Cenacle of Young Writers of Senegal which is the initiator.
The ceremony, which ended late in the evening with a performance by singer Amadeuss, also had the opportunity to reward journalists. Ana Rocha Faye and Salamata Ousmane Diallo (Rfm), Amadou Moustapha Dieng (Sud Fm), Astou Mbène Thioub (Tfm), Pape Amadou Sarr “Iradio” and Adjara Kane (2Stv) were honored for their dedication to the promotion of literature .
FKS/ASG
