Téa Mutonji
Téa Mutonji | |
|---|---|
 Mutonji in Toronto, October 11, 2022 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (BA) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Writing career | |
| Notable work | Shut Up You're Pretty (2019) |
| Notable awards |
|
Téa Mutonji is a Canadian writer and poet, whose debut short story collection Shut Up You're Pretty was published in 2019.[1]
Early life
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,[2] Mutonji came to Canada with her family when she was young and grew up in the Scarborough district of Toronto and in Oshawa.[3] While living in Scarborough, she worked in the service industry.[4] She then studied media studies and creative writing at the Scarborough campus of the University of Toronto,[1] and was planning to go to law school when she was selected as the first writer to be published by VS. Books, Vivek Shraya's Arsenal Pulp Press imprint for emerging writers of colour.[5]
Works
Shut Up You're Pretty, published in 2019, is a collection of linked short stories about a young girl's coming of age in Scarborough's Galloway neighborhood.[2] The novel centers around Loli and her move from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Canada, sexual experiences, grappling with gender roles, and issues revolving around poverty and consent.[4] Mutonji wrote the novel in part to counter negative stereotypes of the neighbourhood with a narrative that depicted some of her own more positive experiences of having lived there.[2]
In 2026, Mutonji released her debut novel, My Person, centered around two lifelong friends, one of which asks for distance in their relationship.[6][7]
Themes
In an interview with CityNews, Mutonji stated that she writes from an "activist lens".[8]
Mutonji has expressed that being called pretty is not a compliment. It is offensive because it prioritizes women’s physical appearance and overshadows other attributes. Instead, Mutonji describes a shift that is happening where women demand that their character is looked at first.[8]
Accolades
In 2017, Mutonji was one of the winners of the Ontario Book Publishers Organization's What's Your Story? writing contest in the emerging Scarborough writer category, for her short story "There's a Bench Near the Scarborough Golf Club".[9]
In 2023 she was named one of the ten winners of the Journey Prize, in a special edition devoted to Black Canadian writers.[10]
Shut Up You're Pretty was selected for the 2024 edition of Canada Reads, where it was defended by actress Kudakwashe Rutendo.[11]
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Shut Up You're Pretty | Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize | — | Shortlisted | [12] |
| Trillium Book Award | English | Won | [13] | ||
| 2020 | Edmund White Award | — | Won | [14] | |
| 2023 | — | Journey Prize | — | Won | [10] |
Biblio
- —— (2019). Shut Up You're Pretty. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 9781551527550.
- —— (2026). My Person. Random House Canada. ISBN 9781039011854.
References
- 1 2 Carter, Sue (2019-04-12). "Vivek Shraya's book imprint launches with Scarborough author Tea Mutonji". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
- 1 2 3 "'Galloway was amazing': Toronto author's short-story collection gives readers another view of Scarborough". CBC News. Apr 25, 2019. Retrieved Oct 5, 2024.
- ↑ Kaur, Rachna Raj (2019-05-08). "Tea Mutonji adds an incisive coming-of-age tale to Scarborough's literary canon". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
- 1 2 Adamopoulos, Tina (June 26, 2020). "U of T Scarborough's Tea Mutonji wins the Ontario Creates Trillium Book Award". University of Toronto Alumni. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ↑ Carter, Sue (December 11, 2017). "Téa Mutonji selected as first writer under Vivek Shraya's VS. imprint with Arsenal Pulp". Quill & Quire. Retrieved Oct 5, 2024.
- ↑ "My Person by Téa Mutonji". Publishers Weekly. 2026-06-11. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
- ↑ "My Person by Téa Mutjoni". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
- 1 2 Bresge, Adina (November 1, 2019). "Writers' Trust finalist Tea Mutonji on the ugly side of 'pretty'". CityNews.
- ↑ "'What's Your Story?' 2017 Obpo Writing Contest Winners! Part One: Scarborough". Open Book. September 25, 2017. Retrieved 2026-08-09.
- 1 2 "Emerging black writers win the Journey Prize". The Caribbean Camera. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
- ↑ "Meet the Canada Reads 2024 Contenders". CBC Books. January 11, 2024. Retrieved Oct 5, 2024.
- ↑ van Koeverden, Jane (September 24, 2019). "André Alexis, Michael Crummey shortlisted for $50K Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize". CBC Books.
- ↑ "2020 Trillium Book Award Winners". Ontario Creates. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- ↑ Yohannes, Samraweet (May 1, 2020). "Téa Mutonji and Kai Cheng Thom among winners of 2020 Publishing Triangle Awards for LGBTQ literature". CBC Books.