Abdou Karim Camara (born 1950), better known as Louis Camara, is a Senegalese writer known for his

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and tales.

Biography

Camara was born in 1950 at the edge of the

Senegal River The Senegal River ( or "Senegal" - compound of the Serer term "Seen" or "Sene" or "Sen" (from Roog Seen, Supreme Deity in Serer religion) and "O Gal" (meaning "body of water")); , , , ) is a river in West Africa; much of its length mark ...

in Saint-Louis, located 270 km from

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. Researcher, novelist, and short story writer, Camara is passionate about Yoruba

civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

which remains its main source of inspiration. He taught at Université Gaston Berger in Saint Louis,

. He has attended numerous festivals and was a guest at the Francophonies en Limousin Festival in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Until 2000, he worked at the Musée du Centre de Recherche et de documentation du Sénégal(CRDS) based in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. In 1996, he was awarded the Grand Prix du président de la république pour les lettres, the highest literary honor in Senegal for his most famous work Le Choix de l’Ori, "a tale that highlights the architecture, the rhythm, and style of black Africa", according to then-president

Abdou Diouf Abdou Diouf ( ; Serer: ; born 7 September 1935)Biography at Socialist Party website

. A revised and edited version of the novel is published by
Amalion Amalion is a multilingual independent academic publishing house based in Dakar, Senegal. History Amalion is an independent pan-African publishing house based in Dakar, created in 2009. Amalion publishes scholarly knowledge from various parts of Af ...
in 2015.

Works
* ''Le Choix de l’Ori'', Editions
Amalion Amalion is a multilingual independent academic publishing house based in Dakar, Senegal. History Amalion is an independent pan-African publishing house based in Dakar, created in 2009. Amalion publishes scholarly knowledge from various parts of Af ...
, Dakar, 2015, () * ''Au-dessus des dunes'', Editions Athena édif, 2014, () * ''Histoire d’Iyewa ou les pièges de l’amour'', Xamal Publishing, St. Louis 1998 () * ''Kankan le maléfique'', Éditions Hurtubise HMH Quebec () * ''Le tambour d’Orunmila'', NEAS, Dakar, 2003, () * ''La tragique histoire d’Aganoribi'', Éditions Kalaama Dakar, 2005 () * ''Il pleut sur Saint-Louis'', short stories, NEAS Dakar, 2007, () * ''Saint-Louis du Sénégal'',
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, Editions Print Book, () * ''La forêt aux mille demons'' (French adaptation of "A Forest of a Thousand Daemons" by
Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...
) EENAS
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
, 2010 ()

Awards
* Grand prix du président de la république du
Sénégal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwe ...
pour les lettres in 1996, * Leopold Sedar Senghor Foundation prize for the best short story in 1997, *
Chevalier des Palmes Académiques Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...
de la république française in 2010.

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camara, Louis 21st-century Senegalese writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Saint-Louis, Senegal Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques