He is considered a central figure in Portuguese literature. He has combined his passion for biology with his literary talent to explore issues of identity, memory and the interaction between cultures. He is the author, among other books, of the novels Sleepwalking Land, The Last Flight of the Flamingo, Confession of the Lioness and Venenos de Deus, Remédios do Diabo as well as from the short story collections Voices Made Night and Every Man Is a Race. He is the most translated Mozambican writer, his work has been translated into more than 27 languages such as Spanish, Catalan, Swedish, French, German and Italian, among others, and published in numerous countries.
Mia Couto is widely recognized for his contribution to literature in the Portuguese language and has been awarded numerous literary prizes throughout his career, the National Fiction Prize (1995), the Vergílio Ferreira Prize (1999), the Camões Prize (2013) and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature (2014). In recognition of his outstanding career, Mia Couto was appointed Commander of the Military Order of Sant'iago da Espada in 1998 and received the prestigious Camões Award in 2013. In 2022, he was honored with the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the São Paulo State University (Unesp).
His unique style, influenced by animist realism and the regional lexicon of Mozambique, has revolutionized the African narrative in the Portuguese language. Since 1998, Mia Couto has been a corresponding member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, occupying chair 5, whose patron is Dom Francisco de Sousa.
Other activities involving the participant:
One Thousand Young People with Mia Couto, FIL in Romance Languages Award
FIL Program 
