Egyptian writer and novelist, Fouad Qandil, winner of the State Appreciation Award, died Wednesday at the age of 71.
Qandil is one of the most known Egyptian novelists and a figure from the 1960's literary generation in Egypt, who are collectively considered the pillar of Egyptian literary life up to this day.
Qandil was born in Benha, eastern Egypt in 1944. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University in 1962. He started his career in the mid 1960's.
Qandil left behind a legacy of 18 novels, 12 short story collections and 12 critical studies.
He won many literary prizes including the Naguib Mahfouz prize for best novel, State Excellency Award in 2004, State Appreciation Award in 2010, and the prize of the late Sudanese novelist Tayyieb Saleh in 2011.
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