#ArabicFiction2021

 

The winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2021 will be announced at an online event on Tuesday 25th May from 10am (BST) / 1pm (GST). The event will celebrate the impact of the prize and feature contributions from the IPAF chair of trustees Yasir Suleiman, Administrator Fleur Montanaro and this year’s Chair of Judges Chawki Bazih. The event will be streamed on IPAF’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

 

The event will be followed by a press conference, with the 2021 winner, from 10.45am BST/1.45pm GST on Zoom in both English and Arabic. A direct link to join will be circulated before the announcement. 

 

The 2021 shortlist, with author names in alphabetical order, is as follows:

Author	Title	Country of origin	Publisher
Abdulatif Ould Abdullah	The Eye of Hammurabi	Algeria	Dar Mim
Jalal Bargas	Notebooks of the Bookshop Keeper	Jordan	The Arabic Institute for Research and Publishing
Amira Ghenim	Calamity of the Nobility	Tunisia	Dar Mesaa
Dunya Mikhail	The Bird Tattoo	Iraq	Dar al-Rafidain
Abdelmajid Sebbata	File 42	Morocco	Al-Markez al-Thaqafi al-Arabi
Habib Selmi	Longing for the Woman Next Door	Tunisia	Dar al-Adab

 

Events

 

To celebrate the six authors and novels shortlisted for the 2021 international Prize for Arabic Fiction, there will be a series of events taking place online before and after the winner announcement. 

 

Before the winner announcement:

 

•       Wed 12th – Thu 20th May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

2021 Judges present this year’s shortlist in series of online videos

In the lead up to this year’s winner announcement, the 2021 judging panel will present a series of short video discussions celebrating the 2021 shortlisted novels. The series will be hosted by Moroccan writer, broadcaster and Prize trustee Yassin Adnan. 

 

The full viewing schedule is as follows:

 

Wed 12 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Ayesha Sultan presents Notebooks of the Bookshop Keeper by Jalal Bargas. More info here. 

 

Thu 13 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Mohammed Ait Hanna presents Longing for the Woman Next Door by Habib Selmi. More info here. 

 

Mon 17 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Chawki Bazih presents File 42 by Abdelmajid Sebbata. More info here. 

Tue 18 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Chawki Bazih presents The Eye of Hammurabi by Abdulatif Ould Abdullah. More info here. 

Wed 19 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Ali Al-Muqri presents The Calamity of the Nobility by Amira Ghenim. More info here. 

Thu 20 May, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST)

Safa Jubran presents The Bird Tattoo by Dunya Mikhail. More info here. 

 

Following the announcement of the winner, the shortlisted authors will participate in the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair as follows:

•       Thu 27 May, Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, 3pm (BST) / 6pm (GST) 

IPAF: Honouring the 2021 winner and shortlisted authors

To celebrate the 2021 winner and shortlisted authors, Bilal Orfali will interview Abdelmajid Sebbata, Abdulatif Ould Abdullah, Dunya Mikhail, Habib Selmi, Jalal Bargas and Amira Ghenim. They will discuss their journey, from idea to finished book. 

This year’s winner will be chosen by the 2021 judging panel from the shortlist of six novels all published in Arabic between 1st July 2019 and 31st August 2020. The judging panel is chaired by Chawki Bazih. Judging alongside him are Mohammed Ait Hanna, Safa Jubran, Ali Al-Muqri, and Ayesha Sultan. 

 

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is an annual literary prize for novels in Arabic. It is currently sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, under the umbrella of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and has been mentored by the Booker Prize Foundation in London. 

 

Please get in touch for more information, or to arrange the following:

•       Access to film footage of interviews with all shortlisted authors ahead of the ceremony for use on social media or online channels

•       Interviews with the shortlisted authors before the announcement on Sunday 23rd May or Monday 24th May

•       An interview with the winner following the announcement on Tuesday 25th May or Wednesday 26th May