International Prize for Arabic Fiction

International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2025 longlist announced

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2025 longlist was announced on Tuesday, January 7, 2025.

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is the most prestigious literary prize in the Arab world. The prize worth US$50,000 aims to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing and to encourage the readership of high-quality Arabic literature internationally through the translation and publication of winning and shortlisted novels in other major languages. Previous winners include Bahaa Taher (2008), Yusuf Zeydan (2009), Abdo Khal (2010), Mohammed Achaari (2011), Rabee Jaber (2012), Saud Alsanousi (2013), Ahmed Saadawi (2014), Shukri Mabkhout (2015), Rabai al-Madhoun (2016), Mohammed Hasan Alwan (2017), Ibrahim Nasrallah (2018), Hoda Barakat (2019), Mohamed Alnaas (2022), and Basim Khandaqji (2024).

Egyptian academic Mona Baker chairs the 2025 jury alongside Moroccan academic and critic Said Bengrad, Emirati critic and academic Maryam Al Hashimi, Lebanese researcher and academic Bilal Orfali, and Finnish translator Sampsa Peltonen. They read the 124 submissions and announced a longlist of 16 stories on Tuesday.

Mona Baker, Chair of the 2025 judges, said: “This year’s longlist is remarkable in its diversity of both theme and literary form. Some novels address women’s struggles to achieve their dreams in a patriarchal society that prevents them from living fulfilled lives. Others offer a nuanced portrait of religious and sectarian worlds, where extremism and dogma contrast with human empathy and understanding. There are a number of historical novels on the list which deal with both the recent and more distant past, such as the Abbasid era, or the Inquisition and persecution of Muslims in Andalusia. There are also semi-autobiographical books, and others which read like detective stories. Repressive regimes and their power to crush the hopes and lives of ordinary people are also explored; some novelists paint a stark picture of this reality, while others employ sarcasm and humour, rendering these difficult topics more accessible for the reader.”

The longlist has the following African writers;

  • Houwariya, Inam Bioud (Algeria), Dar Mim
  • Danshmand, Ahmed Fal Al Din (Mauritania), Masciliana
  • The Stolen Novel, Hasan Kamal(Egypt), Diwan
  • Happy Dreams, Ahmed Al-Malawany(Egypt), Kotopia
  • The Prayer of Anxiety, Mohamed Samir Nada (Egypt), Masciliana
  • The Lamplighter, Ayman Ragab Taher (Egypt), Kayyan

The six shortlisted titles will be announced on Wednesday 19th February 2025 at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt before the winner is made public on Thursday 24 April 2025 in Abu Dhabi.

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