Two Egyptian writers make it to Arabic Booker longlist
Mohammed Saad, Wednesday 17 Jan 2018
The selected novels in the longlist were chosen from 124 entries from 14 countries


The International Prize for Arabic Fiction, also known as the Arabic Booker, announced on Wednesday the longlist of 16 novels in contention for the 2018 Prize.

The longlist includes two young Egyptian authors; Ahmed Abdel Latif and Rasha Adly.

The prize also revealed the judging panel that chose the longlist. The panel was chaired by Jordanian academic, critic, poet, novelist and playwright Ibrahim Al-Saafin.

The 2018 judges serving alongside Ibrahim Al-Saafin are Inam Bioud, an Algerian academic, translator, novelist and poet; Jamal Mahjoub, a Sudanese-British writer and novelist; Mahmoud Shukair, a Palestinian short story writer and novelist; and Barbara Skubic, a Slovenian writer and translator.

The full 2018 longlist, with author names in alphabetical order, is as follows:





Author



Title



Country of origin



Publisher





Ahmed Abdel-Latif



The Earthen Fortress



Egypt



Dar al-Ain





Atef Abu Saif



Christina



Palestine



Al-Ahlia





Rasha Adly



Passion



Egypt



Arab Scientific Publishers





Fadi Azzam



Huddud's House



Syria



Dar Al-Adab





Antoine Douaihy



The Last Country



Lebanon



Arab Scientific Publishers





Amir Tag Elsir



Flowers Consumed by Fire



Sudan



Dar Al-Saqi





Aziz Mohammed



The Critical Case of "K"



Saudi Arabia



Dar Tanweer, Lebanon





Ibrahim Nasrallah



The Second War of the Dog



Palestine



Arab Scientific Publishers





Amjad Nasser



Here is the Rose



Jordan



Dar Al-Adab





Hamed Al-Nazir



The Black Peacock



Sudan



Medad





Shahad Al-Rawi



Baghdad Clock



Iraq



Dar Al-Hikma, London





Taleb Al-Refai



Al-Najdi



Kuwait



That Al-Salasil





Walid Shurafa



Heir of the Tombstones



Palestine



Al-Ahlia





Dima Wannous



The Frightened Ones



Syria



Dar Al-Adab





Hussein Yassin



Ali, the Story of an Honourable Man



Palestine



Dar Al-Ru'aat





Amin Zaoui



Leg Over Leg - in the Sighting of the Lovers' Crescent



Algeria



Al-Ikhtilef

































































Of the 16 authors chosen, many are recognisable names, with three having been shortlisted for the Prize previously – Atef Abu Saif (2015,A Suspended Life); Amir Tag Elsir (2011,The Grub Hunter); and Ibrahim Nasrallah (2009,Time of White Horses). The latter two have also been longlisted and served as mentors on the Prize’s Nadwa – an annual writing workshop for talented, emerging writers.

A further five of this year’s list have been previously longlisted; Fadi Azzam, Antoine Douaihy, Hamed Al-Nazir, Taleb Al-Refai and Amin Zaoui.

Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Rasha Adly, Aziz Mohammed, Amjad Nasser, Shahad Al Rawi, Walid Shurafa, Dima Wannous and Hussein Yassin all make their first appearance on the list.

The two youngest authors on the list, Saudi Arabian author Aziz Mohamed and Iraqi Shahad Al Rawi, are longlisted with their debut novels. Shahad Al-Rawi’sBaghdad Clockhas already been translated into English and is due to be published by Oneworld Publications this year.

Jaudges panel chair Al-Saafinsaid that "the novels on the longlist are thematically and stylistically varied: realistic, fantastical, historical and social, but all in their different ways tackle Arab reality and the challenges faced by Arab societies on political, cultural and human levels, as well as grappling with questions of identity. They bring to life the tragic distortions and dreams of these societies, delving deep into the past to throw light on current issues."

The prize also announced that the shortlist will be announced in February and the winner will be announced at an awards ceremony held at the Fairmont Bab Al-Bahr in Abu Dhabi on 24 April, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The six shortlisted finalists will receive $10,000, with a further $50,000 going to the winner.

Last year’s winner of the prize wasA Small Deathby Mohamed Hasan Alwan.

This year will see the publication in English of 2016 winner Rabai Al-Madhoun’sDestinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and Al-Nakbaby Hoopoe Fiction, along with 2014 winner Ahmed Saadawi’sFrankenstein in Baghdadby Oneworld in the UK and Penguin Books in the US.

Other winners already available in English include Baha Taher’sSunset Oasisin 2009 and Youssef Ziedan’sAzazeelin 2012. English translations of Abdo Khal’sSpewing Sparks as Big as Castlesand MohammedAchaari’s The Arch and the Butterflywere published in 2014. Saud Alsanousi’sThe Bamboo Stalkwas published in 2015 and Raja Alem’s novel,The Dove’s Necklacein 2016.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/288304.aspx