8-book Shortlist Announced for 2017 Prix de la Littérature Arabe

The shortlist for the 2017 Prix de la Littérature Arabe was announced yesterday. The € 10,000 — the largest for Arab or Arabic literature in translation — is awarded annually to a writer “who is a national of an Arab League country” and who has published a book, the previous year, written in or translated into French:

Eight titles have been shortlisted for the fifth edition of the prize, which is sponsored by the Arab World Institute and the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation:

La Fille de Souslov (translated to English by Elisabeth Jaquette, as Suslov’s Daughter), by Habib Abdulrab Sarori (Actes Sud). Translator: Hana Jaber.

Seul le grenadier (translated to English by the author as The Corpse Washer), by Sinan Antoon (Actes Sud). Translator: Leyla Mansour.

Mourir est un enchantement, by Yasmine Chami (Actes Sud)

Un oiseau bleu et rare vole avec moi, (translated to the English as A Rare Blue Bird Flies With Me, by Jonathan Smolin), by Youssef Fadel (Actes Sud). Translator: Philippe Vigreux.

Cinquante grammes de paradis, (translated to the English as The Weight of Paradise, by Michelle Hartman), by Iman Humaydan (Vertical). Translator: Hana Jaber.

Pas de couteaux dans les cuisines de cette ville, (translated to the English as No Knives in the Kitchens of this City, by Leri Price), byKhaled Khalifa (Actes Sud). Translator: Rania Samara.

Une femme sans écriture, by Saber Mansouri (Seuil);

L’effacement, by Samir Toumi (Barzakh).

Last year, the award went to Inaam Kachachi for her Tashaari. The inaugural prize in 2014 went to Jabbour Douaihy for his St. George Looked Away.

This year’s winner will be announced October 18.