Ryad Assani-Razaki (born November 4, 1981) is a Beninese-Canadian writer. His debut short story collection Deux cercles won the Trillium Book Award for French-language fiction in 2010, and his novel La main d'Iman won the Prix Robert-Cliche in 2011 and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for French-language fiction in 2012.

Born in Cotonou, Benin, Assani-Razaki first moved to North America in 1999, to study computer science at the University of North Carolina. After graduating in 2002, he struggled to find a job until registering for a master's in computer science at the Université de Montréal in 2004. He wrote his first short story in 2006, after witnessing an Asian man struggle to order food in a fast food restaurant because of his difficulties with the language. Deux cercles was published in 2009.

Ryad Assani-Razaki

References

21st-century Canadian novelists

21st-century Canadian short story writers

Black Canadian writers

Beninese emigrants to Canada

Canadian male novelists

Canadian male short story writers

Canadian novelists in French

Canadian short story writers in French

Writers from Toronto

Living people

People from Cotonou

Beninese novelists

Beninese male short story writers

Beninese short story writers

1981 births

University of North Carolina alumni

Université de Montréal alumni

21st-century Canadian male writers

Ryad Assani-Razaki