Book launch - Blaise Ndala: L’équation avant la nuit
This event will be in French.
On Wednesday, October 29, everyone is invited to the launch of Blaise Ndala’s new novel, L’équation avant la nuit. During this event hosted by Library and Archives Canada and Mémoire d’encrier, you can enjoy a conversation between Blaise Ndala and Julien Morissette of Transistor Media.
Blaise Ndala sheds light on an unknown facet of World War II history: the race between the Allies and Nazi Germany to build the atomic bomb using uranium from Belgian Congo. From the Americas to Africa by way of Europe, from Yellowknife to Katanga via Berlin, this powerful novel reminds us of how the past can catch up to the present.
About the author
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Blaise Ndala studied law in Belgium before settling in Ottawa in 2007. As a novelist, he patiently weaves a body of work that holds a mirror to the world. At the publishing house Mémoire d’encrier, he published Sans capote ni kalachnikov (2017) [translated in 2024 as The War You Don’t Hate], which was selected for the Grand Prix littéraire d’Afrique noire and notably won Radio-Canada’s Combat national des livres in 2019 as well as the Prix littéraire Émergence de l’Association des auteures et auteurs de l’Ontario français; it also received an honourable mention for the Prix Ivoire pour la littérature africaine d’expression française. His novel Dans le ventre du Congo (2021) [translated in 2023 as In the Belly of the Congo] was awarded the Prix Ivoire and the Prix Ahmadou-Kourouma in 2021.
Event details
- Date
- Wednesday, October 29, 2025
- Time
- 7:00 p.m.
- Admission
- Free admission; registration required
- Location
- Library and Archives Canada
- Address
- 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario
Registration
Since the number of spots is limited, please sign up:
If you have any questions, send an email to evenements-events@bac-lac.gc.ca.