2023 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize: 'Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War'

 Internationally Renowned Publisher Honored By The Global Literature In Libraries Initiative

Internationally renowned publisher Humanoids is proud to announce that the powerfully moving non-fiction graphic novel Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War by Gaspard Talmasse and translated by Nanette McGuinness, has received a 2023 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Honor. 

Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War, from Humanoids’ critically acclaimed Life Drawn imprint, is based on the true story of a young child, Alice Cyuzuzo, following her journey as she traverses the roads of Zaire to seek refuge from the civil war that has struck her native Rwanda.

Gitarama, in the Southern Province of Rwanda, 1994.

Five-year-old Alice enjoys a peaceful childhood with her parents and little sisters, but life as she knows it is about to change forever as the genocide of the Tutsis erupts, forcing her to escape her village with her family.

It is on the hot roads of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known then as Zaire, that Alice grows up, bouncing from one refugee camp to another, seeking some semblance of peace.

Talmasse delivers a singular testimony, capturing with painfully honest emotion a relentless world as seen through the eyes of an innocent child: one who grew up to become his own life partner.

Gaspard Talmasse is a Belgian artist. He graduated in Arts Plastiques at the Saint-Luc Institute in Liege, specializing in comics. Since then, he has been working mainly as a freelance illustrator and comic book artist. In 2010, he was the illustrator and colorist on Patrice Leconte's animated film Le Magasin des suicides, then worked in 2012 on the animated series Petz. In 2016, he illustrated Ma famille 3+1 = 7, then Pilou, tous les soirs du monde for Éditions de la Bagnole. Since February 2018, he has regularly collaborated with Otra Vista as a storyboarder, director, and cartoon animator.

The GLLI prize aims to highlight the gems of world literature for 12-to-18-year-olds. The original list of titles included works translated from 5 languages, and the shortlist included stories from Asia, Europe, and South America. Works considered were published within three years of the submission deadline. The shortlist of seven titles contains various themes and subject matter of interest to teens and includes many graphic novels. 

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