About the Author

Marguerite Abouet was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in 1971. At the age of twelve, she was sent with her older brother to study in France under the care of a great uncle. She lives in Romainville, a suburb of Paris, where she works as a legal assistant and writes novels she has yet to show to publishers. Aya is her first comic. It taps into Abouet's childhood memories of Ivory Coast in the 1970s, a prosperous, promising time in that country's history, to tell an unpretentious and gently humorous story of an Africa we rarely see―spirited, hopeful, and resilient.

Clément Oubrerie was born in Paris in 1966. After a stint in art school he spent two years in the United States doing a variety of odd jobs, publishing his first children's books and serving jail time in New Mexico for working without papers. Back in France, he went on to a prolific career in illustration. With over forty children's books to his credit, he is also cofounder of the 3D animation studio Station OMD. A drummer in a funk band in his spare time, he still travels frequently, especially to the Ivory Coast. In Aya, his first comic, Oubrerie's warm colors and energetic, playful line connect expressively with Marguerite Abouet's vibrant writing.
Marguerite Abouet was born in the Youpougon district of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and arrived in Paris at the age of twelve. In 2005, she wrote the first volume of the Aya series, which won the first album prize at the Angouleme Festival. The Ivorian saga, drawn by Clément Oubrerie, was hailed by critics and met with considerable success. Translated into fifteen languages, the 800 page saga is a delightful portrayal of an authentic Africa, far removed from cliches. In 2010, alongside Mathieu Sapin, she created The Adventures of Akissi, a series for young people inspired by her childhood memories. She is also active in the audiovisual field, co-directing the big screen adaptation of Aya (nominated for a Cesar in 2014) and creating the television series C'est La Vie! broadcast on A+ and TV5 Monde/Afrique and on some forty national African channels. She also works for the association she founded, Des Livres Pour Tous, with the aim of setting up neighborhood libraries, making books more accessible in African cities, and fighting illiteracy. Five libraries have been opened in Abidjan, serving over six thousand children.

Clément Oubrerie was born in Paris in 1966. After a stint in art school he spent two years in the United States doing a variety of odd jobs and seeing his work published for the first time. On his return to France, he illustrated books for young people and successfully experimented with digital animation techniques. In 2005, he made his debut as a comic strip artist with the first volume of the Aya series. He has collaborated with Francois Begaudeau, Joann Sfar, Julie Birmant, and Leila Slimani, but sometimes works solo.

Reviews

"Abouet's brilliantly illustrated series about the lives of three friends in Abidjan is as funny and sharp as ever [with] feminist sass and distinctive wit." --The Guardian "[Aya] is full of everyday heroes, and topping the list is Aya herself, a young woman navigating the delights and obstacles of early adulthood in the West African nation of Ivory Coast." --Elian Peltier, The New York Times "Oubrerie [has an] innate ability to bring neighbourhoods to life with seemingly effortless scratches of his pen." --Broken Frontier "Just as in any other great soap opera, the last page leaves the reader desperate to find out what will happen next." --blogcritics "An absorbing and eye popping look at Africa in the 1990s." --Youth Services Book Review