| Ryad Assani-Razaki | |
| Birth Place: | Cotonou, Benin |
| Occupation: | Novelist, short story writer |
| Period: | 2010s–present |
| Nationality: | Beninese, Canadian |
Ryad Assani-Razaki (born November 4, 1981) is a Beninese-Canadian writer.[1] His debut short story collection Deux cercles won the Trillium Book Award for French-language fiction in 2010,[2] and his novel La main d'Iman won the Prix Robert-Cliche in 2011[3] and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for French-language fiction in 2012.[4]
Born in Cotonou, Benin, Assani-Razaki first moved to North America in 1999, to study computer science at the University of North Carolina.[1] After graduating in 2002, he struggled to find a job until registering for a master's in computer science at the Université de Montréal in 2004.[1] He wrote his first short story in 2006, after witnessing an Asian man struggle to order food in a fast food restaurant because of his difficulties with the language.[1] Deux cercles was published in 2009.[1]