It’s been a busy literary season in Cairo, with the novel conference, the Naguib Mahfouz award, preparations for the Cairo International Book Fair, and the kerfuffle over the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) shortlist. Also, ’tis the season when a number of Egyptian writers who teach abroad will arrive to give talks about their new books.
I certainly hope this medal—presented last night at the AUC’s downtown campus—doesn’t negatively impact Brooklyn Heights’ chances at the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), for which it was shortlisted just three days ago.
This year, journalists (and the public) had a chance to question several of the IPAF judges—including chair Fadhil al-Azzawi—at an afternoon press conference in Doha.
Two young Egyptians, a prominent Saudi, a Sudanese writer living in Qatar (where he works as a physician) and both the current Moroccan Minister of Culture and a former holder of the post are on this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction shortlist.
In the interest of “balance,” today we’ll be providing some good old-fashioned views of Arabs (in English) over here at ArabLit! First, the Guardian books blog has a post about reading and knowing Tangiers via European writers (and the disappointments… Read More ›
Last night, publisher Dar Merit sent out a notice that the second edition of Miral al-Tahawy’s “Arabic Booker” longlisted Brooklyn Heights will go to press in a few days. The publisher also said that new editions of her other novels: الخباء، نقرات الظباء، و الباذنجانة الزرقاء are also in the works.
As predicted, this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (“Arabic Booker”) longlist has more women than in previous years. This year’s longlist is nearly 50-50, with 7 women and 9 men.
The more interesting news, I think, is that submissions from female writers were up, with works by female writers forming 29% of the overall total. That’s up from 16% last year and 14% the year before.
I assume this isn’t a secret, since it went out to everyone who’s a member of the Dar Merit Facebook group. And the nominees are…(drumroll)…: Creation, by Ahmad Sabri Abu Fotouh Brooklyn Heights, by Miral al-Tahawy The Garden Flower, by… Read More ›
