Rabat – Moroccan novelist Salma Moumni was awarded the France Culture Student Novel Prize today for her first novel entitled “Adieu Tanger” (Farewell Tangier), published by Grasset Publishing House
The 24-year-old novelist emerged to prominence at the beginning of the current fall literary season, with her novel questioning the destructive power of the human gaze, intimacy, freedom, and exile.
Moumni’s “Adieu Tangier” follows the perspective of a young woman, who was compelled to leave the Moroccan city of Tangier, relocating to Lyon in France, as she endures the distress of intimate photos of herself being distributed against her will.
The novel topped the voting of the Student Novel Prize jury, made up of 1,500 students from all disciplines across France.
“Adieu Tangier” emerged as the winning choice, after a vote by the Student Novel Prize jury, a body comprising 1,500 students across France.
Supported by the French Ministry of Higher Education and the National Book Center, a jury consisting of student volunteers from various parts of France selects the Student Novel Prize winner.
“I’m delighted that the students found themselves through Alia’s [the protagonist] voice, and that it resonated with theirs across France, from Montpellier to Lille and from Rennes to Strasbourg,” Moumni said, celebrating her success.
She also thanked “all the universities that welcomed us, and the students for devoting their time. I enjoyed traveling to tell stories, meet people, and listen to others.”
Moumni is originally from Tangier and moved to France to study literature. She currently resides in Paris.
Moumni was close to winning the French literary award Medicis Prize on November 9, as she received four votes from the jury members in the final decision, while Canadian Kevin Lambert won six for his novel “Que notre joie demeure” (Literally: May Our Joy Perpetuate).
Read also: Three Moroccan Women Qualify for Paris Literature Contest Finals
