Hello

PhotoCopyrights: Anton Cherepanov

I'am Max Lobe,

You can call me Maxou.

As a Black African queer (BlaQy) author, I write on this blog mostly how is it like to be a Black Afro queer.

I also hold the projet GenevAfrica to forge links between Swiss authors and African authors through correspondance and a kind of literary Erasmus: Swiss authors go to the selected country in Africa, and the African authors come to the Geneva book fair.
Because I studied communication and journalism, I will also pubish here papers, philosophical reflections, exhibitions and books reviews. All this both in English and French. It will depend on my mood :)

Enjoy!

BlaQly yours,

Max Lobe

Biography

Born in 1986 in Douala, Max LOBE is a Swiss-Cameroonian novelist, short story writer, and poet. Among the topics which transcend his work, Black African homosexuality, migration and post-colonial studies are recurrent.

He is openly gay.

At eighteen, he moved to Switzerland where he earned a BA in communication and journalism (Lugano) and a master’s in public policy and administration (Lausanne).

In 2017, his novel Confidences on the war of independence of Cameroon won the Ahmadou Kourouma Prize. Other books by the author include 39 rue de Berne, La Trinité bantoue, and La Promesse de Sa Phall’Excellence (Jan 2021), a burlesque, fantastic and erotic novel on tyranny.

All his books are published in French at Zoé Publisher in Geneva.

His first translated novel in English, A Long way from Douala, was published in Feb 2021 by HopeRoad Publishing in UK and by Other Press in the USA. Many He's translated in many other languages.

Inspired by both the traditions of Black African literature and folk tales and by the realities of the immigrant experience in Switzerland, Max Lobe’s work stands out for its vibrant, accessible depictions of his characters’ lives. Tackling serious and important issues such as homophobia, religion, violence and the plight of undocumented migrants, Lobe’s narrators are sparky and unpretentious, full of life and humor. His books are light and readable, and at the same time deeply serious and important. They have a wide and enduring appeal.

He also created and ruled the project GenevAfrica to build bridges between African and Swiss authors.

Max Lobe lives in Geneva and dedicates his life to literature.

Bibliography

39 Rue de Berne aux éditions Zoé, Jan 2013
La Trinité Bantoue, aux éditions Zoé, Août 2014
Confidences, aux éditions Zoé, Fev 2016
Loin de Douala, aux éditions Zoé, Mars 2018
La Promesse de Sa Phall’Excellence, aux éditions Zoé, Jan 2021