Fiston Mwanza Mujila was born in 1981 in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He studied literature and humanities at the university there before leaving his home country in 2007. In 2009/2010 he was City Writer of Graz, where he has lived ever since. He works at the University of Graz as a lecturer in the literature of African countries.
Fiston Mwanza Mujila writes poetry, prose and plays. Thematically, his focus is on the Congo and the political and social developments in the country since independence from Belgium in 1960. Another key theme is life in exile. Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s debut novel »Tram 83« (2014) was awarded the Internationaler Literaturpreis des Hauses der Kulturen der Welt. Tram 83 is the name of a nightclub in a large African city characterized by violence and corruption. DLF Kultur spoke of a »brilliant, rhythmic, formally extremely daring novel full of insertions, enumerations, and deliberate repetitions«. The English translation was nominated for the Man Booker International Prize. »La danse du Vilain« (2020; tr: The Villain’s Dance), which was awarded the Prix Les Afriques, once again revolves around a pub: people from all walks of life meet at the Mambo de la fête to forget their troubles. The multi-perspective novel was praised for its exuberant inventiveness and musicality: »The novel vibrates, stomps and swings«, according to the »FAZ«. Most recently, the poetry collection »Kasala pour mon Kaku« (2021; tr: Kasala for my Kaku) was published, which places invocations to the ancestors alongside the reality of life in post-colonial exile and, like the author’s prose, is permeated by rhythm and music: »Fiston Mwanza Mujila is a great and irrepressible linguistic player«, said Klaus Kastberger in the »Standard«.
Fiston Mwanza Mujila was awarded the Prize of the Houses of Literature 2024: »(His) stage performances are sensational: he reads his texts, he lives them, screams, shouts, laments, whispers or sings«. In 2024, he lived in Berlin as a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. In 2026, he received the Erich Fried Prize for literature and language. For the 2026/2027 season, he was invited as Poet in Residence by the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He lives in Graz.
Status: 2026