How the Prize Works

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. Trustees serve a term of three years with the possibility of being appointed for a second term by the Board.

The judging panel changes every year. The Board of Trustees appoints each year’s panel, but it is for the judges alone to decide which novels will appear on the longlist and the shortlist, and which one will be the overall winner.

Judges remain anonymous until the shortlisted authors are announced, in order to ensure the independence and integrity of the selection process.

The procedures and timelines for submission of published works are issued every year to publishers and released to the media. Those which are applicable to the current year are available here.