To celebrate the UK publication of The Villain’s Dance (And Other Stories, 2026) author Fiston Mwanza Mujila and translator Roland Glasser went on tour in May 2026 with events in London, Bristol and Edinburgh.
The Villain’s Dance was originally published in France in 2021 under the title La danse du vilain and was first published in English in early 2024 by Deep Vellum, who had also published the author’s first novel, Tram 83, in 2015. The Villain’s Dance went on to be a National Book Award finalist for translated literature.
The tour kicked off with a panel at the European Writer’s Festival at The British Library in London and a book presentation at a small event for the Austrian Cultural Forum moderated by award-winning journalist Rosie Goldsmith.
Wasifiri Mag (who recently celebrated their 125th print issue) hosted the next event at Bard Books. The evening was shared under the concept of Living in the Melancholony: An Evening of African and Afro-diasporic Writing. Fiston Mwanza Mujila, and Roland Glasser shared the stage with fellow writers Sulaiman Addonia, Brian Chikwava and Shady Lewis to speak about their various backgrounds and perspectives in relation to their countries, exiles, migrations, writing practices and so much more. This discussion was chaired by author Irenosen Okojie.
The tour continued with an event at Gloucester Books in Bristol and finished off with a sold-out event at Till’s Bookshop in Edinburgh where Fiston and Roland spoke about the movement and actions of the characters against the backdrop of history and political turmoil, writing and translating musical prose, and their special professional relationship throughout the translation of both of Fiston’s novels.
For more information about Fiston Mwanza Mujila’s work, please contact Anna Soler-Pont (anna[at]pontas-agency.com).
Header photo credit: @jampondphotography