Couto, Mia

Mia Couto, born in Beira, Mozambique, in 1955, is one of the most prominent writers in Portuguese-speaking Africa. After studying medicine and biology in Maputo, he worked as a journalist and headed several Mozambican national newspapers and magazines. Couto has been awarded several important literary prizes, including the 2014 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Premio Camoes (the most prestigious Portuguese-language award), the Premio Vergilio Ferreira, the Premio Uniao Latina de Literaturas Romanicas, and others. He lives in Maputo, where he works as a biologist.