Shenaz Patel (born July 29, 1966) is a Mauritian writer and politician.
She was born in the town of Rose Hill, Mauritius and writes in both French and Mauritian Creole. She did her secondary studies at Lycée La Bourdonnais. Subsequently, she obtained her degree in Modern Literature from the Université de la Réunion in 1986. [1]
Patel was one of a group of Mauritian writers who founded the literary journal Tracés. She has translated two Tintin stories into Creole: Le Secret de la Licorne and Trésor de Rackham le Rouge.
Her first play La phobie du caméléon was awarded the Prix Beaumarchais.[2]
In 2014, Vents d'ailleurs published her novella Paradis Blues, which is written in French with Creole interspersed through the narration.
In 2016, she was a participant in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, IA.[3]
Patel has been awarded the following honours:
2002 | Prix Radio-France du livre de l’Océan Indien, for Le Portrait Chamarel. | |
2004 | Prix du Roman francophone, for Sensitive. | |
2005 | Prix Beaumarchais des écritures dramatiques de l’Océan Indien, for La phobie du caméléon. | |
2006 | Prix Soroptimist de la Romancière francophone, for Le Silence des Chagos. | |
2016 | International Writing Program Resident, University of Iowa | |
2018 | Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellow, Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, Harvard University. |