Longlist Announced for International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011

11 November 2010

• Seven women make the longlist of 16, the highest number in the Prize’s history
• Religious extremism, political and social conflict and women’s struggles emerge as key themes

The Judges of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011 today, Thursday 11 November 2010, announce the longlist contenders for the Prize, one of the most prestigious and important literary events of its kind in the Arab world.

The judging panel whittled down the longlist of 16 from a total of 123 entries, from 17 countries across the Arab world. They included for the first time this year, Afghanistan. The highest number of submissions came from Egypt. The number of submissions is up on the previous prize year, when 118 titles were entered from 17 countries. 29% of the works submitted were by female writers, compared with 16% the previous year. 

The longlisted titles range from a woman’s account of the underbelly of present day Mecca to a story of Ottoman nationalism at the end of the 19^th century and a tale of star-crossed teenage lovers in the Yemen. There are two novels about fathers whose sons join Al-Qaeda, whilst another looks at the ordeal of a prisoner in an American prison in Morocco. The struggle of the Arab expatriate in Western society is the focus of two novels, both in the UK and in America. This year sees solid representation from North Africa.

The list features four authors previously nominated for IPAF, for the 2009 Prize: Fawaz Haddad, shortlisted for The Unfaithful Translator and longlist contenders Renée Hayek, Ali Al-Muqri and Bensalem Himmich for Prayer for the Family, Black Taste, Black Odour and The Man from Andalucia respectively.

The 2011 longlist is, with author names in alphabetical order:

The Chair of Judges commented on the longlist: “This year’s novels were thematically varied, covering the issues of religious extremism, political and social conflict, and women’s struggle to liberate themselves from the obstacles standing in the way of their personal growth and empowerment. We are delighted with the very high percentage of women who reached the longlist compared with previous years.”

The 2011 Panel of Judges will be revealed at the same time as the 2011 shortlist announcement is made on 9 December 2010 in Doha, Qatar, the 2010 Arab Capital of Culture.

Joumana Haddad, Prize Administrator, commented on the longlist: “The Prize in its fourth year has become a critical conscience and a literary reference in all that relates to the modern Arabic novel, in both the Arab and Western worlds. The 2011 longlist is proof of that.”

2011 marks the fourth year of the Prize, the first of its kind in the Arab world in its commitment to the independence, transparency and integrity of its selection process. Its aim is to celebrate the very best of contemporary Arabic fiction and encourage wider international readership of Arabic literature through translation.

To date, the three winners of the Prize have been translated into English, in addition to a range of other languages including Bosnian, French, German, Norwegian and Indonesian. Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis (2008) was translated into English by Sceptre (an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton) in 2009, Youssef Ziedan’s Azazel(2009) will be published in the UK by Atlantic Books in August 2011 and news of an English translation of Abdo Khal’s Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles (2010) will be announced shortly. In addition, a number of the shortlisted finalists have also secured translations, the most recent of which is an English translation of Inaam Kachachi’s The American Granddaughter through the Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation.

Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Board of Trustees, commented: “The longlist for the fourth International Prize for Arabic Fiction is as varied, talented and powerful as ever and includes writers from seven Arabic countries, a high proportion being women.”

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is awarded for prose fiction in Arabic and each of the six shortlisted finalists receives $10,000, with a further $50,000 going to the winner.  It was launched in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in April 2007, and is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation and the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy.

The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011 will be announced at the awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Monday 14 March 2011, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.