Pepetela Author

Born in Benguela, Angola, Pepetela fought as an MPLA guerrilla from 1969 to 1975, seeing front-line service against the armies of Portugal and apartheid South Africa, as well as rival rebel groups. After Angolan independence, he was Deputy Minister of Education (1976–82) and taught sociology at Agostinho Neto University (1984–2008). Awarded the Camões Prize, the Portuguese language’s highest literary award, for his life’s work, Pepetela is the author of twenty-one novels that have won prizes in Holland, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Angola, and have been published in more than twenty languages. He lives in Luanda, Angola.

David Brookshaw’s many translations include Mia Couto’s selected stories Sea Loves Me and his recent novels Woman of the Ashes and The Sword and the Spear. He has translated widely from the literatures of Lusophone Asia and the Azores Islands. Brookshaw is Professor Emeritus of Lusophone Studies at the University of Bristol, England.