The Most Famous
WRITERS from Cameroon
This page contains a list of the greatest Cameroonian Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 5 of which were born in Cameroon. This makes Cameroon the birth place of the 84th most number of Writers behind North Korea, and Haiti.
Top 6
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Cameroonian Writers of all time. This list of famous Cameroonian Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Mongo Beti (1932 - 2001)
With an HPI of 50.37, Mongo Beti is the most famous Cameroonian Writer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.
Alexandre Biyidi Awala (30 June 1932 – 8 October 2001), known as Mongo Beti or Eza Boto, was a Cameroonian author and polemicist. Beti has been called one of the most perceptive French-African writers in his presentations of African life. The Guardian has noted that "Beti must be counted as one of the foremost African writers of the independence generation." Beti spent much of his life in France, studying at the Sorbonne and becoming a professor at Lycée Pierre Corneille.
2. Francis Bebey (1929 - 2001)
With an HPI of 47.73, Francis Bebey is the 2nd most famous Cameroonian Writer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Francis Bebey (French: [bəbɛ], 15 July 1929 in Douala, Cameroon – 28 May 2001 in Paris, France) was a Cameroonian musicologist, writer, composer, and broadcaster.
3. Werewere Liking (b. 1950)
With an HPI of 41.53, Werewere Liking is the 3rd most famous Cameroonian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Werewere Liking (born 1950, in Cameroon) is a writer, playwright and performer based in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. She established the Ki-Yi Mbock theatre troupe in 1980 and founded the Ki-Yi village in 1985 for the artistic education of young people. Her novel Elle sera de jaspe et de corail is a song-novel recounted by an astute misovire (literally 'man-hater' from misos Gr. "hate" and vir Lat. "man") in writing a journal on nine themes as a dialectic between two men wherein the author of the journal imagines a new race of people uninhibited by the historical baggage of patriarchy and colonialism. She is the author of the African feminist theory "misovirism." She received a Prince Claus Award in 2000 for her contributions to culture and society, and the Noma Award in 2005 for her book La mémoire amputée.
4. Calixthe Beyala (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 38.96, Calixthe Beyala is the 4th most famous Cameroonian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Calixthe Beyala (born 1961) is a Cameroonian-French writer who writes in French.
5. Léonora Miano (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 34.02, Léonora Miano is the 5th most famous Cameroonian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Léonora Miano (born 1973, in Douala) is a Cameroonian author.
6. Djaili Amadou Amal (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 32.42, Djaili Amadou Amal is the 6th most famous Cameroonian Writer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Djaili Amadou Amal is a Cameroonian writer, and feminist activist.
People
Pantheon has 6 people classified as Cameroonian writers born between 1929 and 1975. Of these 6, 4 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Cameroonian writers include Werewere Liking, Calixthe Beyala, and Léonora Miano. The most famous deceased Cameroonian writers include Mongo Beti, and Francis Bebey. As of April 2024, 1 new Cameroonian writers have been added to Pantheon including Djaili Amadou Amal.
Living Cameroonian Writers
Go to all Rankings
Werewere Liking
1950 - Present
HPI: 41.53
Calixthe Beyala
1961 - Present
HPI: 38.96
Léonora Miano
1973 - Present
HPI: 34.02
Djaili Amadou Amal
1975 - Present
HPI: 32.42
