Guadeloupe-born writer mentioned as possible Nobel Literature Prize candidate

Guadeloupe-born writer mentioned as possible Nobel Literature Prize candidate

BASSE-TERRE — Acclaimed Guadeloupe-born writer Maryse Condé is often mentioned as a possible Nobel Literature Prize candidate.

The 89-year-old writer was nominated for the International Booker Prize for translated fiction for “The Gospel According to the New World” this year.

Condé, who has lost her sight, dictated the novel to her husband and translator, Richard Philcox.

She is a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe.

Condé is best known for her novel Ségou. Her novels explore the African diaspora that resulted from slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean. 

Derek Alton Walcott was the first Caribbean-born writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Walcott, a St. Lucian poet and playwright born in 1930, won the coveted prize in 1992.