For a printable list of the authors, click here.

Abdelkader Benali
Home country: Morocco
Language: Dutch
In brief: Abdelkader was born in Morocco but has spent most of his life in the Netherlands, where he has been hailed as one of the most important young writers in the Dutch language today. His first novel, published when he was only 21 years old, was recognised with a Geertjan Lubberhuizen Prize for best literary debut. Its successor received the Libris Prize for Dutch literature. He is also a published playwright and essayist. He was recently selected for the Beirut39 project, organised by the Hay Festival and Beirut World Book Capital 2009 to honour the top 39 Arab authors under the age of 39.
Works include: ‘Wedding by the Sea’, ‘The Long-Awaited’

Adam Haslett
Home country: the United States
Language: English
In brief: With a best-selling debut short story collection that was a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, was nominated for a National Book Award and has been translated into 15 languages, Adam is one of America’s most sought-after young authors. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Nation, The New Yorker and Esquire, and in 2002 he was named New York Magazine’s Writer-of-the-Year. He has been a visiting professor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and at Columbia University. His highly anticipated first novel will be released in the US in early 2010.
Works include: ‘You Are Not a Stranger Here’, ‘Union Atlantic’

Ahlam Mosteghanemi
Home country: Algeria
Language: Arabic
In brief: One the Arab World’s few truly best-selling novelists, Ahlam was recognized in Forbes magazine as the most widely published writer in the Arab World, with sales of her books exceeding 2.3 million copies. She has been a powerful presence on the Arabic literary stage for over 25 years. Her novel ‘Memory in the Flesh’ sent shockwaves throughout the literary establishment upon its publication in 1993, and has been included in the curricula of many high schools and universities in the Arab World and worldwide. Her texts were used by the French Ministry of Education in the 2003 French baccalaureate exams in 15 francophone countries. She is known for her poetic language and the philosophical-historical dimensions and emotional impact of the writing in her novels.
Works include: ‘Memory in the Flesh’, ‘Nessyane.com’

Alawiyya Sobh
Home country: Lebanon
Language: Arabic
In brief: This novelist, poet and outspoken feminist has been hailed internationally for the way she has used writing to fearlessly confront some of the region’s most difficult contemporary social issues. She authored numerous critical sketches aired on Lebanese radio during the Lebanese Civil War, and she is the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the Arab World’s most important women’s magazines. In 2006 Alawiyya was awarded Oman’s Sultan Qaboos Prize for Cultural Innovation in the category of literature. Her novels have been translated into many languages.
Works include: ‘Maryam of the Stories’, ‘World’

Alia Yunis
Home country: the United States
Language: English
In brief: This Arab-American author’s debut novel has caught the attention of readers and critics alike from the US to the UAE, with glowing reviews in The Washington Post and The Boston Globe and a flurry of interviews and reviews in Middle East media outlets in the aftermath of its release. Alia is a PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and has received awards both for her writing and her film work. She currently teaches film and television at Zayed University.
Works include: ‘The Night Counter’

Amara Lakhous
Home country: Algeria
Language: Arabic/Italian
In brief: Amara was born in Algiers in 1970. He graduated from the Philosophy Institute at the University of Algiers in 1994, and later obtained an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Rome. He has resided in Rome since 1995, where he is involved in diverse pursuits including translation, journalism, studying and lecturing. His first novel ‘The Bedbugs and the Pirate’ was published in Rome in Arabic and Italian (translated by Francesco Leggio) in 1999. His second novel ‘How to Be Suckled by the Wolf without Getting Bit’ was published in Algiera in 2003 (Ekhtelaf editions), and a second edition  appeared in Beirut in 2006 in partnership with Dar Al Arabiya Lil Ulum. He re-wrote the novel in Italian and published it in 2006 with great success. It has been translated into French, English, Dutch and German, and was made into a film by the director Isotta Toso. Amara won the international Flaiano Prize for literature in 2006 and the Algerian Librarians’ Prize in 2008.
Works include: ‘The Bedbugs and the Pirate’, ‘How to Be Suckled by the Wolf without Getting Bit’

Amit Chaudhuri
Home country: India
Language: English
In brief: One of India’s most celebrated modern writers, Amit has published five novels and many short stories, essays, poems and works of literary criticism. He served on the judging panels for the 2001 IMPAC Dublin International Literary Prize and the 2009 Man Booker International Prize, and has lectured extensively at universities across the UK and US. He has received numerous awards for his fiction, including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction and India’s prestigious Sahitya Akademi prize. Amit currently serves as Professor in Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia. His newest novel, ‘The Immortals’, was the Critics’ Choice for Best Books of 2009 in The New Yorker and The Boston Globe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and an acclaimed musician.
Works include: ‘A New World’, ‘The Immortals’

Anouar Benmalek
Home country: Algeria
Language: French
In brief: The Algerian and French novelist, mathematician and journalist Anouar Benmalek is the author of 14 books, mostly novels, which have been translated into more than 10 languages. His latest novel, ‘The Kidnapping’, on the Algerian war of independence, was very well greeted in Algeria and in France, with some critics even speaking of it as a “masterpiece” (E. Charles-Roux of the  Goncourt Academy in France, for example, as well as the influential daily newspaper El Watan in Algeria).
Works include: ‘The Kidnapping’, ‘The Lovers of Algeria’

Bapsi Sidhwa
Home country: Pakistan
Language: English
In brief: In a career spanning more than three decades, Bapsi has become recognised as one of Pakistan’s premier diaspora writers. She has published five novels, collaborated closely with the Canadian-Indian director Deepa Mehta on two films and taught courses at some of America’s top academic institutions, including Columbia University. Among her many accolades, she has received the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Pakistan’s highest national honour in the arts) and the 2007 Primo Mondello Award in Italy.
Works include: ‘Cracking India’, ‘The Pakistani Bride’

Gilbert Sinoué
Home country: Egypt
Language: French
In brief: Born in Egypt, Gilbert immigrated to France as a young man and has since published nearly 20 books in French. He is best known for his numerous works of historical fiction, many of them set in the Middle East. His awards include the Booksellers’ Prize for best novel of the year in 1996 and the Grand Prix de littérature policière for best detective novel in 2004. His books have been translated into 15 languages and sold around the world.
Works include: ‘The Egyptian’, ‘The Silences of God’

Hamdy El-Gazzar
Home country: Egypt
Language: Arabic
In brief: A relative newcomer to the literary scene, Hamdy’s debut novel made a splash when it captured the 2006 Sawiris Foundation Prize in Egyptian Literature. His second novel, published in 2008, was an instant best-seller, establishing him as an important voice in contemporary Arabic literature. He is also the author of several plays and short stories, as well as numerous screenplays for Egyptian television. He was recently selected for the Beirut39 project, organised by the Hay Festival and Beirut World Book Capital 2009 to honour the top 39 Arab authors under the age of 39.
Works include: ‘Black Magic’,  ‘Secret Pleasures’

Laila al-Othman
Home country: Kuwait
Language: Arabic
In brief: One of Kuwait’s most internationally acclaimed authors, Laila has been active on the Kuwaiti literary scene for more than four decades. As a journalist, columnist, radio presenter, short story writer, novelist and leading member of the Kuwaiti Writers Guild, she has devoted herself tirelessly to the promotion of culture and literature within her native country. She is an outspoken opponent of censorship in Arabic literature and a prominent voice for women’s rights in the Arab World. Her work has been translated into many languages.
Works include: ‘Wasmiyya Gets Out of the Sea’, ‘The Silence of Butterflies’

M. T. Vasudevan Nair
Home country: India
Language: Malayalam
In brief: One of the most varied and prolific writers of modern Malayalam literature, M.T. has written numerous short stories, novels and screenplays narrating the struggles of daily life in contemporary Kerala society. He received the prestigious Jnanpith literary award in 1995 and is a four-time recipient of India’s National Award for Best Screenplay.
Works include: ‘The Funeral Procession’, ‘Second Turn’

Pankaj Mishra
Home country: India
Language: English
In brief: A master in the art of social, political and literary commentary, Pankaj’s work has appeared in more than 20 prominent media outlets throughout India, the UK and the US, including the Financial Times, the Guardian, the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Washington Post. He has taught at Wellesley College in the US and was a visiting fellow at University College, London and the New York Public Library. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Works include: ‘Butter Chicken in Ludhiana’, ‘The Romantics’

Peter Smith
Home country: the United Kingdom
Language: English
In brief: Better known under the pseudonyms ‘James Barrington’ and ‘James Becker’, Peter spent 21 years in the Royal Navy as a covert operative before becoming a full-time novelist and creative writing teacher. His best-selling books include historical fiction as well as spy novels that draw on his experiences serving in Yemen, Russia and Northern Ireland. His latest book is a fast-paced contemporary thriller set in Dubai.
Works include: ‘Timebomb’, ‘The First Apostle’

Qaisra Shahraz
Home country: Pakistan/the United Kingdom
Language: English
In brief: Born in Pakistan and raised in the UK, Qaisra has been widely acclaimed by critics for producing novels, short stories and television screenplays that offer particularly human characterizations of life in her native country and of the experiences of Pakistani immigrants in the West. She is also an educator and creative writing instructor, and has led workshops and seminars on these subjects abroad and in the UK. Her debut novel received a Golden Jubilee Award , and she has won several Pakistan Television Awards for her screenwriting.
Works include: ‘The Holy Woman’, ‘Typhoon’

Ramsey Nasr
Home country: the Netherlands
Language: Dutch
In brief: This multi-talented and highly decorated young author, actor, director and poet of Dutch-Palestinian heritage has accomplished in less than two decades on the literary scene what most never achieve in a lifetime. Among his many achievements, he has translated and directed two Mozart operas, performed his poetry in places as diverse as Indonesia and Bethlehem and staged a travelling English-Arabic production of one of his own monologues. He is currently the Poet Laureate of the Netherlands.
Works include: ‘27 Poems and No Song’, ‘Awkwardly Flowering’

Sinan Antoon
Home country: Iraq
Language: Arabic/English
In brief: Sinan is an Iraqi-born poet, novelist and filmmaker. His poems and essays (in Arabic and English) have appeared in various journals and publications in the Arab world, including as-Safir, al-Akhbar, al-Adab and Masharef, as well as The Nation, Middle East Report, al-Ahram Weekly, Banipal, Ploughshares and World Literature Today. He has also contributed numerous translations of Arabic poetry into English and vice versa. His co-translation of Mahmud Darwish’s poetry was nominated for the PEN Prize for translation in 2004 and his translation of Darwish’s last prose book, ‘In the Presence of Absence’, is forthcoming from Archipelago in 2010. Antoon returned to his native Baghdad in 2003 as a member of InCounter Productions to co-direct/produce the documentary ‘About Baghdad’ about the lives of Iraqis in a post-Saddam occupied Iraq. Antoon is currently an Assistant Professor at New York University.
Works include: ‘I’jaam’, ‘One Night in all Cities’

Tarun Tejpal
Home country: India
Language: English
In brief: Five years ago Tarun was best known as the founder of ‘Tehelka’, an Indian media outlet with a reputation for groundbreaking public interest journalism. Now with two critically acclaimed novels under his belt, the first of which won the Prix Millepages in France and was lauded by Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul as “a new and brilliantly original novel from India,” he has earned himself a place as one of India’s leading contemporary authors.
Works include: ‘The Alchemy of Desire’, ‘The Story of My Assassins’

Yann Martel
Home country: Canada
Language: English
In brief: One of Canada’s most important authors, Yann is beloved in dozens of countries for his novel ‘Life of Pi’, which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2002 and has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. Known as a writer of rich imagination—‘Life of Pi’ tells the story of a boy trapped on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger and a menagerie of other zoo animals—he is currently engaged in a project to send books “known to expand stillness” to the Prime Minister of Canada on a biweekly basis. His forthcoming novel ‘Beatrice and Virgil’ will be released in April 2010.
Works include: ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Beatrice and Virgil’

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Winners of the 2010 Sheikh Zayed Book Award

 For a printable list of the winners, click here.

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Authors shortlisted for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction

 For a printable list of the authors, click here.

Abdo Khal
‘She Throws Sparks’ – Al-Jamal Publications

Abdo Khal is a Saudi novelist born in al-Majanah, southern Saudi Arabia, in 1962. He studied political science at King Abdel Al Aziz University in Jeddah before starting writing in 1980. He is the author of several works, including: ‘A Dialogue at the Gates of the Earth’, ‘There’s Nothing to be Happy About’ and ‘Cities Eating the Grass’. Some of his works have been translated into English, French and German. In addition to his writing, he is a member of the board of directors of the Jeddah Literary Club and the editor-in-chief of the Ukaz newspaper, for which he writes a daily column.

Jamal Naji
‘When the Wolves Grow Old’ – Ministry of Culture Publications

Jamal Naji is a Jordanian writer of Palestinian descent, born in the ‘Aqbat Jaber refugee camp, Jericho (Ariha) in 1954. He began writing in 1975 and his published works include: ‘The Road to Balharith’, ‘Time’, ‘The Remnants of the Last Storms’, ‘Life on the Edge of Death’, ‘The Night of the Feathers’, ‘What Happened Thursday’ and ‘The Target’.  He was president of the Jordanian Writers Association from 2001–2003 and he currently works as head of the Intelligentsia Centre for Research and Survey in Amman, Jordan.

Mansoura Ez Eldin
‘Beyond Paradise’ – Al-Ain

Egyptian novelist and journalist Mansoura Ez Eldin was born in Delta Egypt in 1976. She studied journalism at the Faculty of Media, Cairo University and has since published short stories in various newspapers and magazines: she published her first collection of short stories, ‘Shaken Light,’ in 2001. This was followed by two novels, ‘Maryam’s Maze’ in 2004 and ‘Beyond Paradise’ in 2009. Her work has been translated into a number of languages, including an English translation of ‘Maryam’s Maze’ by the American University in Cairo (AUC) Press. This year, she was selected for the Beirut39, as one of the 39 best Arab authors below the age of 40. She was also a participant of the inaugural nadwa (writers’ workshop) held by the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in Abu Dhabi this November.

Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel
‘A Cloudy Day of the West Side’ – Dar Al-Shorouk

Egyptian novelist Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel was born in 1946 in the Egyptian Delta city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra, where his father was a worker. His first novel, ‘Breaking of the Spirit’, was inspired by events surrounding workers’ unrest in the city. A medical school graduate, he worked as a doctor in the countryside before dedicating himself to writing. He currently lives in Kuwait, where he works as an editor for monthly magazine Al-Arabi. He has won two awards for his writing, the State Incentive Award in 1988 and the Sawiris Foundation Award in 2006. He has published several novels, short story collections and children’s books and his novel ‘Moon over Samarkand’ has been published in English by the American University in Cairo (AUC) Press.

Raba’i Madhoun
‘The Lady from Tel-Aviv’ – Arab Institute for Publishing and Studies

Palestinian writer Raba’i Madhoun was born in al-Majdal, Ashkelon, Palestine, in 1945. Along with his parents, he was uprooted from his homeland during the 1948 Nakba exodus and as a consequence his childhood was spent in the Khan Younis Palestinian refugee camp situated in the Gaza Strip. He studied at Alexandria University, Egypt, and since 1973 has worked as a journalist. His written works include the short story collection ‘The Idiot of Khan Younis’, an academic study (‘The Palestinian Intifada’) and his autobiography, ‘The Taste of Separation’. He currently works as an editor for Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper in London.

Rabee Jabir
‘America’ – Al-Markhaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre)

Lebanese novelist and journalist Rabee Jabir was born in Beirut in 1972. He has been editor of Afaq, the weekly cultural supplement of Al-Hayat newspaper, since 2001. His first novel, ‘Master of Darkness’, won the Critics Choice Prize in 1992. He has since written 16 novels, including: ‘Black Tea’; ‘The Last House’; ‘Yousif Al-Inglizi’; ‘The Journey of the Granadan’ (published in German in 2005) and ‘Berytus: A City Beneath the Earth’ (published in French by Gallimard in 2009).