The ArabLit Story Prize 2020, which is seeking submissions, announced on March 15 that this year’s judges are Sawad Hussain, Hilal Chouman, and Donia Kamal.
In 2018, Arablit.com introduced the ArabLit Story Prize for the best short stories, in any genre, newly translated from Arabic into English. The first edition of the prize judged by Maan Abu Taleb, Thoraya El Rayyes, and Ruqaya Izzidien was won by Egyptian writer Mohammad Abdelnabi for Our Story translated by Robin Moger. It was won in 2019 by Najwa Bin Shatwan and Sawad Hussain.
The judges for the 2020 edition of the award have been announced and they are;
Sawad Hussain, the winning translator for 2019, was co-editor of the Arabic-English portion of the Oxford Arabic Dictionary (2014). She translated Saud Alsanousi’s Mama Hissa’s Mice; her forthcoming translations include Sahar Khalifeh’s iconic Passage to the Plaza (Bab as-Saha).
Hilal Chouman is an award-winning Lebanese novelist and short-story writer who has published four novels; What I Was Told During My Sleep (2008), Napolitana (2010), Limbo Beirut (2016), and Once Upon a Time, Tomorrow (2017). Limbo Beirut was translated to English by Anna Ziajka Stanton.
Donia Kamal is an Egyptian novelist and producer; her novel, Cigarette Number Seven, was translated to English by Nariman Youssef, and she has also produced more than fifty documentary films and numerous television shows for various Arab networks.
The prize team is seeking submissions, which close on July 15, from those who have stories that fit its criteria. The winner and translator will split the $500 prize equally. Click here to learn more about the prize call out.
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