Biography of Khalil Diallo
Khalil Diallo, 33 years old, is a Senegalese novelist born in Mauritania in 1992. Based in Dakar, he works in QHSE (quality, hygiene, safety, and environment management) but defines himself as a “lover of the word and a shaper of words.” His novels confront head-on the open wounds of contemporary Africa: terrorism, clandestine migration, and war. He aligns himself with Roberto Bolaño, Cesare Pavese, and Albert Camus — authors who understood that fiction can say what journalism misses.
In Brief
| Full Name | Khalil Diallo (sometimes cited as Ibrahim El Khalil Diallo) |
| Birth | 1992, Mauritania |
| Nationality | Senegalese |
| Residence | Dakar, Senegal |
| Field | Novel, poetry |
| Notable Works | À l’orée du trépas, L’Odyssée des oubliés |
| Awards | Ahmed Baba Prize 2021, Aminata Sow Fall Creativity Prize |
Key Dates
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Birth in Mauritania |
| 2018 | Chœur à cœur (poetry) and À l’orée du trépas (novel), L’Harmattan Sénégal |
| 2019 | À l’orée du trépas shortlisted for the Orange Book Prize in Africa, Ahmadou Kourouma and Ivoire; winner of the Aminata Sow Fall Prize |
| 2020 | L’Odyssée des oubliés, L’Harmattan Sénégal |
| 2021 | L’Odyssée des oubliés published in France (Emmanuelle Collas); winner of the Ahmed Baba Prize |
| 2023 | German translation of L’Odyssée des oubliés; Racine Senghor Prize at FILD |
From the Soul of a Man to the Sorrows of a Continent
À l’orée du trépas (2018) tells the story of Ismaïla, a young Senegalese whose life turns upside down when his beloved dies in a terrorist attack. Consumed by despair, guided by an “orgy of grief,” Ismaïla turns to the dark side of the human condition. The novel, dedicated to all innocents fallen under the yoke of totalitarianisms, pays homage to Yambo Ouologuem. “People become bad because they no longer have anything left to love madly,” Diallo summarizes — and this may be the key to his work.
Two years later, L’Odyssée des oubliés (2020) opens the perspective on a continental scale. It follows a group of West African migrants — a persecuted writer, a young woman, childhood friends — who attempt the perilous crossing of the Sahara, Libya, and the Mediterranean toward Europe. The novel is structured like a journal kept by the protagonist Sembouyane, completed by Alain, the persecuted writer. “Life is a wound. An exile. Man, from lost star dust.” The characters are all populated with contrasting humanities: Sami, the smuggler, is brutal and generous; Rachid lives in his contradictions. “It’s a novel of hope,” notes the Africultures critic.
Major Works
| Work | Year | Why It’s Essential |
|---|---|---|
| Chœur à cœur (poetry) | 2018 | The beginnings of a singular pen |
| À l’orée du trépas (novel) | 2018 | A man between love and terrorism; shortlisted for 3 prizes |
| L’Odyssée des oubliés (novel) | 2020 | Migratory epic; Ahmed Baba Prize, translated into German |
Legacy and Influence
Khalil Diallo has published only two novels and one collection of poems, but his imprint on contemporary Francophone literature is already being felt. In November 2021, after a shipwreck that cost the lives of more than 140 Senegalese migrants, he published a virulent op-ed: “The young dead at sea are not anonymous… Calling them by their first names, naming them is giving back their humanity. The true cause of their death is political!”
For Diallo, “literature is political.” In 2023, L’Odyssée des oubliés was awarded at the Dakar International Book Festival and translated into German. His third novel is currently being written — a promise of a work that has only just begun.
Sources and References
- “2021: my discovery of the novelist, Khalil Diallo,” Africultures, https://africultures.com/2021-ma-decouverte-du-romancier-khalil-diallo/, accessed October 18, 2025.
- Khalil Diallo, Agence Ægitna (author biography), https://www.agenceaegitna.com/khalil-diallo/, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “Khalil Diallo: Ahmed Baba Prize,” Jeune Afrique, https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1270098/culture/mohamed-mbougar-sarr-abdulrazak-gurnah-boubacar-boris-diop-ces-africains-qui-ont-fait-lannee-litteraire/, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “DIALLO Khalil,” Etonnants Voyageurs, https://etonnants-voyageurs.com/DIALLO-Khalil.html, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “Khalil Diallo,” Éditions L’Harmattan Sénégal, https://senharmattan.com/auteur/khalil-diallo, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “Khalil Diallo,” Wikipedia, https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Diallo, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “L’Odyssée des oubliés,” Éditions Emmanuelle Collas, https://www.emmanuelle-collas-editions.com/?Diallo=, accessed October 18, 2025.
- “Ibrahim El Khalil Diallo for Virtually Yours,” Writing Africa / Goethe-Institut, https://writingafrica.com/ibrahim-el-khalil-diallo-for-virtually-yours/, accessed October 18, 2025.