The book Entre Nous (Paris: La Doxa), for which Associate Professor of French Cheryl Toman provided the preface, won the national prize for Gabon in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-sponsored competition, La Journée du Manuscrit Francophone.
The book is a collection of short stories by eight writers from Gabon.
This was the fourth year of the competition and 246 literary works/finalists were presented from 26 French-speaking countries worldwide.
Jury members included writers Michel Dansel (France), Wilfried N’Sonde (Congo) and Hervé Ayemene (Cote-d’Ivoire).
Additional partners with UNESCO for the La Journée du Manuscrit Francophone include the Ministère de la Culture et de la Francophonie, Côte d’Ivoire’s Delegation at UNESCO, and various publishers, literary journals and media stations from France, Francophone Africa and the Caribbean.
Toman is one of the leading scholars on the literature of Gabon today. In addition to her latest book, Women Writers of Gabon: Literature and Herstory, Toman published numerous articles and translations concerning Gabonese writing in French. She was asked to preface the book by Edna Merey Apinda, an acclaimed writer and the editor of Entre Nous.