13 Arabic Booker Prize Winners And Nominees Hosted By Sharjah International Book Fair

The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) has announced that 13 Arab novelists, including winners and nominees of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Arabic Booker) over the past seven years, will participate in cultural and intellectual seminars and evenings organised by SIBF for its 33rd edition, which will take place from 5-15 November at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The list of Arabic Booker winners who will participate in the Sharjah International Book Fair includes renowned Egyptian novelist and historian Yousuf Zidan who won the Arabic Booker for his well-known novel ‘Azazeel’ in 2009. Zidan’s novel ‘The Nabatean’ was also on the long list for the fifth edition of the Arabic Booker Prize in 2012.

Among the SIBF guests there will also be a number of the most prominent Arab novelists, whose novels were on the shortlist for the 2014 Arabic Booker Prize. They include Moroccan writer Youssef Fadel author of ‘A Rare Blue Bird that Flies with Me’, Ahmed Mourad (Egypt) author of ‘The Blue Elephant’, and Inaam Kachachi (Iraq) author of ‘Tashari’. It is the second time for Kachachi to have one of her novels shortlisted after her novel ‘The American Grandmother’ in 2009.

The guests also include Moroccan author Abdul Rahim Lahbibi, who was shortlisted for his novel, ‘The Journey of Abdi, known as Son of Hamriya’, and Syrian writer Khalid Khalifa author of ‘No Knives in this City’s Kitchen’, which was shortlisted for the 2014 edition, and 'In Praise Of Hatred' which was shortlisted for in 2008, in addition to Sudanese novelist Amir Taj Al Sir, whose novel, ‘The Grub Hunter’, was on the shortlist in 2011, while his novel, “366” was on the long list in 2014.

The List of participating novelists furthermore includes the 2014 Prize long listed authors, Saudi novelist Badriyah Al Bishr, author of ‘Love Stories on Al Asha Street’, and Egyptian novelist Ashraf Al Khamaisi author of ‘God’s Land of Exile’. Lebanese author Antoine Douaihi, who was on the long list for his novel ‘Bearer of the Purple Rose’, Egyptian novelist Ibrahim Abdelmeguid author of ‘Clouds over Alexandria’, Iraqi writer and poet Abdul Khaliq Al Rikabi author of ‘The Sad Night of Alia Baba’, as well as Palestinian novelist and journalist Mahmoud Al Rimawi, whose novel, “Who Will Cheer up the Lady?” was on the 2010 long list, will also be taking part in the Fair.

Emirate:  Sharjah

Date: Oct 19, 2014

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