Paris (Reuters) — Guadeloupe-born author Maryse Conde, who wrote about colonialism, slavery and the French-Caribbean diaspora, died in southern France on Monday at the age of 90. Often cited as a potential winner of the Nobel prize for literature, Conde was awarded the New Academy Prize in Literature in 2018, created after the Swedish Academy postponed that year’s literary Nobel in the aftermath of a rape scandal. “A literary giant, Maryse Conde paints a picture of sorrow and hope, from Guadaloupe to Africa, from the Caribbean to Provence. “Segu” won Conde several awards, including a Fulbright scholarship, and she went on to teach literature at Columbia University in New York, several other US universities and at the Sorbonne in Paris. French Foreign Trade and Language minister Franck Riester said Conde was a leading light of French literature and theatre.

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Persons: Maryse Conde, Conde, Emmanuel Macron, “, ” Conde, “ Segu ”, Salem, Mamadou Conde, Richard Philcox, Philcox, Franck Riester Organizations: Paris, —, New, Swedish Academy, New Academy, Columbia University, Sorbonne, Agence France, Presse, Foreign Trade Locations: — Guadeloupe, French, Caribbean, France, Guadaloupe, Africa, Provence, Mali, Brazil, New York, Paris, Pointe, Guinean, Apt