Alice Kaplan receives honorable mention from Prix Littéraire Fetkann  

Alice Kaplan, Sterling Professor of French, received a special mention by the jury of the Prix Littéraire Fetkann for her book Baya ou le grand vernissage (Le Bruit du Monde and Les Editions Barzakh, 2024).

Kaplan’s book was recognized in the category “memory” for documentaries and works of fiction that uncover the stories of people from the global south. Baya ou le grand vernissage recounts the 1947 voyage of fifteen-year-old artist Baya (born Fatima Haddad) from Algeria to Paris amid the backdrop of France’s colonial violence and the recovery from Nazi occupation.  

“I’m grateful to the FETKANN jury for recognizing Baya’s story, and deeply moved to be associated with the memory of Maryse Condé, an inspiring writer and a force for good,” said Kaplan.

The Prix Littéraire Fetkann was established in 2001 to honor the Guadeloupean writer Maryse Condé. “Fetkann” (“sugar cane festival” in Creole) recognizes the voyage from Africa to the Antilles, the exploitation of slaves, and their struggle for freedom.  

An English language edition of Kaplan’s book, Seeing Baya: Portrait of an Algerian Artist in Paris, was published this fall by the University of Chicago Press.