Six on International Prize for Arabic Fiction shortlist

The Bookseller - 09.12.10 - Katie Allen

Six authors have been shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Moroccan author Mohammed Achaari’s The Arch and the Butterfly and Saudi Arabian Raja Alem’s The Doves’ Necklace (both Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi/Arab Cultural Centre) are in the running.

Others shortlisted are An Oriental Dance by Egyptian author Khalid al-Bari (El-Ain Publishing), My Tormentor by Moroccan author Bensalem Himmich (Dar El Shorouk); The Hunter of the Chrysalises (or The Head Hunter) by Sudanese writer Amir Taj al-Sir (Thaqafa l-al-Nashr/Cultural Publications). The list is completed by Egyptian writer Miral al-Tahawy for Brooklyn Heights (Dar Merit).

Chair of judges Fadhil Al-Azzawi said: “From the beginning the judging panel worked together in harmony and with a great degree of agreement. The fact that they reached near consensus on the longlist made choosing the shortlist easy. In the judges’ opinion, the shortlist shows the high quality of the modern Arabic novel in its different forms.”

The shortlisted authors each receive US$10,000, with the winner, announced on 14th March 2011 in Abu Dhabi, receiving a further US$50,000. The winning novel is also translated into English.
The prize, now in its fourth year, is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation and funded by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy.