Sony Lab'ou Tansi was born in the Republic of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1947.
He taught English at Collège Tchicaya in Pointe Noire for several years before working as an administrator in several ministries in Brazzaville.
His first novel, La Vie et demie (1979), was awarded the special jury's prize at the Festival International des Francophonies in Limoges. Some of his most notable books include The Antipeople, Parentheses of Blood, and The Shameful State. He died in 1995.
