• Seven women make the longlist of 16, the highest number in the Prize’s history
• Religious extremism, political and social conflict and women’s struggles emerge as key themes
The Judges of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011 have announced the longlist contenders for the Prize, one of the most prestigious and important literary events in the Arab world.
The judging panel whittled down the longlist of 16 from a total of 123 entries, from 17 countries across the Arab world. They included for the first time this year, Afghanistan. The highest number of submissions came from Egypt. The number of submissions is up on the previous prize year, when 118 titles were entered from 17 countries. 29% of the works submitted were by female writers, compared with 16% the previous year.
The longlisted titles range from a woman’s account of the underbelly of present day Mecca to a story of Ottoman nationalism at the end of the 19th century and a tale of star-crossed teenage lovers in the Yemen. There are two novels about fathers whose sons join Al-Qaeda, whilst another looks at the ordeal of a prisoner in an American prison in Morocco. The struggle of the Arab expatriate in Western society is the focus of two novels, both in the UK and in America. This year sees solid representation from North Africa.
The list features four authors previously nominated for IPAF, for the 2009 Prize: Fawaz Haddad, shortlisted for The Unfaithful Translator and longlist contenders Renée Hayek, Ali Al-Muqri and Bensalem Himmich for Prayer for the Family, Black Taste, Black Odour and The Man from Andalucia respectively.
The 2011 longlist is, with author names in alphabetical order:
Title Author Publisher Nationality
The Arch and the Butterfly Mohammed Achaari Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre) Moroccan
The Doves’ Necklace Raja Alem Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre) Saudi Arabian
Turmoil in Jeddah Maqbul Moussa Al-Alawi Al-Kawkab
Saudi Arabian
An Oriental Dance Khalid Al-Bari El-Ain Publishing Egyptian
God’s Soldiers Fawaz Haddad Riad El-Rayyes Books Syrian
Secret Rope Maha Hassan Al-Kawkab Syrian
A Short Life Renée Hayek Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre) Lebanese
My Tormentor Bensalem Himmich Dar El Shorouk Moroccan
The Andalucian House Waciny Laredj Jamal Publications
Algerian
Women of Wind Razan Naim Al-Maghrabi Thaqafa l-al-Nashr (Cultural Publications) Libyan
The Handsome Jew Ali Al-Muqri Dar al-Saqi Yemeni
Common Sins Fatin Al-Murr Dar An-Nahar Lebanon
Istasia Khairy Shalaby Dar El Shorouk Egyptian
The Hunter of the Chrysalises (or The Head Hunter) Amir Taj Al-Sir Thaqafa l-al-Nashr (Cultural Publications) Sudanese
Brooklyn Heights Miral Al-Tahawy Dar Merit Egyptian
The Eye of the Sun Ibtisam Ibrahim Teresa Arab Scientific Publishers Syrian
The 2011 shortlist announcement will be made on 9 December 2010 in Doha, Qatar, the 2010 Arab Capital of Culture.
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is awarded for prose fiction in Arabic and each of the six shortlisted finalists receives $10,000, with a further $50,000 going to the winner. It was launched in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in April 2007, and is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation and the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy.
The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011 will be announced at the awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Monday 14 March 2011, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
To date, the three winners of the Prize have been translated into English, in addition to a range of other languages including Bosnian, French, German, Norwegian and Indonesian. Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis (2008) was translated into English by Sceptre (an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton) in 2009, Youssef Ziedan’s Azazel(2009) will be published in the UK by Atlantic Books in August 2011 and news of an English translation of Abdo Khal’s Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles (2010) will be announced shortly.
In addition, a number of the shortlisted finalists have also secured translations, the most recent of which is an English translation of Inaam Kachachi’s The American Granddaughter through the Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation.
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