Sunday Submissions: The Banipal Visiting Writer Fellowship for Arabic-language Writers

The University of Durham and Banipal magazine have announced a new annual writing fellowship “for a published author writing in Arabic, based each year at St. Aidan’s College”:

According to organizers, the “Banipal Visiting Writer Fellowship” will be a three-month residency. They write:

The Fellowship is based on the three cornerstones that have formed the core of Banipal magazine: that Arab literature is an essential part of world culture and human civilisation; that dialogue between different cultures needs to be continually deepened; and that the joy and enlightenment to be gained from reading beautiful poetry and imaginative writing is an integral part of human existence. The Fellowship will encourage dialogue with the Arab world through literature. The cultural exchange and dialogue that it will enable, and create, will open windows for non-Arab audiences in the UK onto the realities of Arab cultures in all their diversity and vibrancy, enabling fruitful discourse to develop. It is hoped that this will lead to further exchange, to mutual respect, to new writings, to deeper understanding, and to contributing to Arab literature taking its rightful place in the canon of world literature.

Visiting writers will be allowed time to read, research, and write, although they will also be expected to “share their work with British audiences.”

The fellowship further intends to “raise the profile of Arabic writing in the UK in general” and to establish “long-lasting connections between writers in the UK and the Arabic-speaking world.”

Organizers will cover travel costs, full board and accommodation, as well as a small honorarium of £1500. The first fellowship is set to take place very soon: from Jan. 23, 2017 to April 21, 2017. So applicants must worry! The deadline is 5 p.m. UK time on November 30, 2016 and the successful applicant will hear by December 19.

The selection panel is made up of St. Aidan College’s Susan F Frenk, novelist Fadia Faqir, and Banipal‘s Samuel Shimon and Margaret Obank.

Details of the fellowship, and how to apply, are available online. You can also get more information at: Banipalfellowship@gmail.com.