Happy New Year! And an Overview of the Arabic Booker in 2010
I will be out of the country (Egypt, that is) through the new year, and for the duration away from computers and screens and Internet connections, insha’allah. I’ll take my leave with an overview of the latest “Arabic Booker” (International Prize for Arabic Fiction) goings-on, and look briefly at whatContinue Reading
Egypt’s Free E-Book Publishing
An interesting short feature from Bikya Masr.Continue Reading
More ‘Arabic Booker:’ Azazeel to Come Out in Spring 2010?
As a side note in her piece about women and the Arabic Booker, Susannah Tarbush notes that Azazeel will be coming out from Atlantic Books in spring 2010. Another paper apparently pinpointed March, but I’ve heard no official word from Grove Atlantic. Azazeel, by Youssef Ziedan, was the second winnerContinue Reading
Alaa el Aswany on Literary Competitions
As came out last April, Dr. el Aswany was to be part of the panel selecting the Beirut39, but then withdrew. However, he continues to be part of other literary contests inside Egypt. The author of The Yacoubian Building tells Al-Masry Al-Youm he has no regrets about his Beirut39 decision,Continue Reading
The ‘Arabic Booker’: Not Enough Women, Marginalized Groups? What’s a Prize To Do?
In a somewhat rambling but very informative piece on the Saudi Gazette, Susannah Tarbush asks “where are the women?” on the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, or “Arabic Booker,” shortlist. Indeed, we knew that this question was coming, or implied, as any number of articles noted “Mansoura ez-Eldin is theContinue Reading
Who are the ‘Arabic Booker’ Nominees? Jamal Naji
Jamal Naji is a Jordanian writer of Palestinian descent, born in the ‘Aqbat Jaber refugee camp in 1954. Lonely Planet, in their guide to Jordan, called him a “writer to watch out for.” In a good way, I hope. He began writing in 1975, and his first novel, The RoadContinue Reading
Algerian Flash Fiction
“The Long Road of H.H.,” by Chawki Amari, recently appeared in Algeria’s Al Watan, according to the blog Algerian Review. The translation to English is a little harum-scarum—so it’s difficult to tell what the language would feel like (perhaps choppy? perhaps droning and repetitive? perhaps lovely?)—and it’s more funny thanContinue Reading
Who are the ‘Arabic Booker’ Nominees? Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel
Like Mansoura Ez Eldin, Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel is already familiar to English-language readers—or, in any case, a tiny cadre of English-language readers—as his novel, Moon over Samarqand, has come out from AUC Press. I have not read it, nor have I been able to find a review of it. AnotherContinue Reading
Who are the ‘Arabic Booker’ Nominees? Rabai al-Madhoun
Although Rabai al-Madhoun is in his sixties and has been working as a journalist, critic, and fiction writer since 1972, there is not much available about him in English. Al-Madhoun’s website–which says that it’s under construction–is in Arabic; it offers a little about the writer’s life and work. In roughContinue Reading
