Fiston Mwanza Mujila: Release of The Villain’s Dance

Fiston Mwanza Mujila (b.1981) is a Congolese-Austrian novelist, poet and dramatist. As part of the Austrian Cultural Forum London programme, he explores migration, political upheaval and postcolonial Central Africa through rhythmic, polyphonic storytelling.

With The Villain’s Dance (La Danse du Vilain, Métailié, 2020), translated from the French by Roland Glasser, Mujila returns to late-1990s Zaire as Mobutu’s regime begins to collapse. Moving between Lubumbashi and the Angolan diamond mines, the novel follows drifters, miners and survivors in a world shaped by violence, exile and desire – set to the rhythm of the “Villain’s Dance”.

Fiston Mwanza Mujila will be in conversation with Roland Glasser and Rosie Goldsmith to discuss the novel, the translation process and writing across languages and cultures. Selected readings from the novel and Mujila’s poetry will be followed by an audience Q&A.

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