Chair of the Judges:
Samuel Shimon, Iraqi author and journalist, was born in Habbaniya in 1956. In 1998, he collaborated with his wife, Margaret Obank, to create Banipal, a magazine dedicated to introducing contemporary Arabic literature to the English audience. Shimon also founded Kikah, a cultural website which promotes free culture and tolerance. In 2005, he published his first novel, Iraqi in Paris; the book continues to be very successful, with translations into several languages. He currently lives in London, U.K.
 
The panel (In alphabetical order):

Mohammed Berrada, Moroccan writer and critic, was born in Rabat in 1938. He holds a PHD degree from France in criticism and literary sociology. He writes short stories, novels and essays, and translates from French. He has published many works, including The Questions of Criticism and Fiction Spaces and his work is regularly published in Arabic newspapers and magazines. He currently lives in Brussels, Belgium.
 
Mohammed Bennis, Moroccan poet and critic, was born in Fez in 1948. He has published more than 30 books, 12 of which are poetry collections, as well as essays and various translations from French. In 1984 he founded the Toubqal publishing house. Since 1980, he has worked as a professor of modern Arabic poetry at the Faculty of Arts and Literature in Rabat. He currently lives in Mohamadieh, Morocco.
 
Feissal Darraj, Palestinian author and critic, was born in Ja’oouna in 1943. He holds a PHD degree in philosophy from France. He has published many essays, in particular The Theory of the Novel and the Arabic Novel, The Novel and Interpretation of History and Modernity in Retreat. He edits a collection entitled Mirrors of Contemporary Thought, published by Kan’aan Publishing in Damascus. He currently lives in Amman, Jordan.
 

Ghalia Kabbani, Syrian author and journalist, grew up in Kuwait. She graduated in law in 1979. Before moving to the U.K in 1994, she worked for Kuwaiti newspaper Al Watan,. She took various training courses in Literature and journalism in London, and writes articles and essays for a number of Arabic newspapers. She has already published two short story collections and a novel. She currently lives in London, U.K.
 
Paul Starkey, British author and translator, was born in London in 1947. He studied Arabic and Persian at Oxford University, where he prepared a PHD thesis on the works of Tawfiq al-Hakim. He has translated a number of Arabic novels into English. He is presently Head of the Arabic Department at the University of Durham and Co-Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World.