FAQs

There is a great range and diversity of Arabic literature which deserves a wider audience in the Arab world and beyond. There is always room for more support to be given to writers and publishers of Arabic works of fiction. There is a perceived need to encourage more reading and writing of good literature in the Arab world and, above all, to see more Arabic literature translated and published in other leading international languages. A key aim for this prize is to increase global readership of Arabic literature through the widest possible publication and distribution of contemporary Arabic fiction in translation.

The idea for the prize emerged during a meeting organised by a German scientific and educational foundation which brought together publishers from ‘East’ and ‘West’. The then President of the Association of Arab Publishers, Ibrahim el Moallem, and a leading British publishing figure talked of the regrettably low amount of quality Arabic fiction being translated into leading Western languages. The suggestion was made that a ‘Booker’-style prize (based on the highly successful Man Booker Prize) would be a good way to encourage recognition of high quality Arabic fiction and to ensure increased translation of such literature into world languages.

In cooperation with the Booker Prize Foundation, the Emirates Foundation has supported this initiative from the beginning. A steering committee of Arab literary experts, publishers and journalists has accordingly been established to advise on the set-up of the prize and its independent Board of Trustees.

The Emirates Foundation, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

How much prize money do the winner and shortlisted authors receive?

The six shortlisted authors will receive 10,000 USD each, and the winner will receive an additional 50,000 US Dollars.

The prize is managed by an independent Board of Trustees representing an international mix of writers, experts in Arabic literature and translation, and figures from publishing, media and academia.  There are 15 trustees from across the Arab world and the UK. Trustees serve a term of three years with the possibility of being appointed for a second term by the Board.

The Administrator, Lebanese poet and journalist Joumana Haddad, is based in Beirut, the publishing “capital” of the Arab world, but she regularly travels to Abu Dhabi and London. The Administrator reports to the Board of Trustees. The chairman of the Board of Trustees is appointed on an annual basis. It is the duty of the Board of Trustees to annually appoint the five judges who will select the awardees.

Judges remain anonymous until the short-listed candidates are announced. This is in order to ensure the independence and integrity of the selection process.
The Board of Trustees of the prize is responsible for appointing the five judges. The judges represent a balanced gender and age mix and have been drawn primarily from across the Arab world. It is intended that each year, one of the five judges will be an international specialist who speaks fluent Arabic.
Publishers are not eligible to serve as judges.
Writers (so long as they are not competing for the prize) as well as academics, journalists and other public figures with an interest in literature are eligible to serve as judges.

No. All works submitted must be written in Arabic.

No. The Prize is for prose fiction.

Up to three works published in the previous year may be submitted by publishers. A memorandum explaining the precise procedures and timelines for submission of published works is issued yearly to the press and to publishers.

There is a commitment to ensure that on the panel of judges, there are women, as well people below the age of 50. There is also a commitment to ensuring a regional spread amongst the judges. In this way, the prize intends to ensure that the voice of young and new writers, as well as of more marginal groups, is heard.

In addition to the annual prize, the IPAF supports literary initiatives and in 2009 launched its inaugural nadwa (writers’ workshop) for a group of aspiring writers from across the Arab world. The workshop – the first of its kind for Arab writers - took place in Abu Dhabi under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. It resulted in eight new pieces of fiction by some of the Arab world’s most promising authors, five of whom have recently been selected for the Beirut39. This collection of stories is due to be published in 2010.