‘Arabic Booker’ Shortlist Announcement Delayed, But Still Set for Cairo

International Prize for Arabic Fiction organizers announced today that:

Given the current turmoil in Cairo and our awareness of, and respect for, the suffering and anxieties of many of those involved, it has been decided that the announcement of the shortlist for the 2012 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (and its judging panel) will be postponed from 7 December 2011 to 11 January 2012. It remains our intention to make this announcement in Cairo, recognising its importance as a hub for Arabic literature.

Emphasis mine.

Longlist profiles:

Fadi Azzam’s Sarmada

Habib Selmi’s The Women’s Orchards

Ezzedine Choukri Fishere’s ‘Embrace at the Brooklyn Bridge’

Hawra al-Nadawi’s ‘Under the Copenhagen Sky’