2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction Longlist To Be Revealed Today; 159 Novels in Contention

The longlist of the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) is set to be revealed today, January 12 2016, between 9 and 10 a.m. GMT:

The longlist will consist of up to 16 novels, chosen from the 159 entries we’re told came in from 18 countries. The longlist has been selected by a panel of five judges; their names will be announced when the shortlist is revealed in Muscat, Oman, on February 9 of this year.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, on April 26, on the eve of the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, currently set for April 27 through May 3.

According to a notice on the IPAF website, “38 (24%) of the novels submitted for this year were by female writers and 49 (31%) of the authors were under 40, figures representing steady overall increases since the prize began. A total of 82 publishers submitted books for the prize.”

Strong contenders for this year’s longlist include former IPAF nadwa participant Mohamed Rabie’s Otared, former IPAF shortlistee Mohamed Mansi Qandil with his The Black Battalion, and celebrated novelist Hanan al-Shaykh’s Virgins of Londonistan.