Adel Esmat (; born 1959) is an Egyptian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. He published a collection of short stories named ''Fragments'' and nine novels including ''Days of the Blue Windows'', published in 2009, which was awarded the State Prize for Incentive for Novels in 2011. Whereas, his novel ''Tales of Yusuf Tadrus'', which was published in 2015, won the

Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature () is a literary award for Arabic literature.American University of Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

published an English translation of the novel.

Education and career

Adel Esmat is a novelist who was born in

Gharbia Governorate Gharbia ( ', , "the western governorate") is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 km north of ...

, Egypt in 1959. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Ain Shams in 1984. Then, he had a second degree in Library Science from the University of Tanta in 1986. Now, he works as a library specialist in the Egyptian Ministry of Education. Esmat published his first novel ''Obsession of Death'' in 1995; and now he has published nine novels including ''Stable Life'', ''The Naked Man'', ''People and Places'', and ''The Crow's Sound''. In 2011, Esmat received the 2016

for his novel ''Tales of Yusuf Tadrus'', which was translated into English. While his novel ''The Commandments'' was shortlisted for the

International Prize for Arabic Fiction The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) (), also known as "the Arabic Booker", is regarded as the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing ...

in 2019, and his novel ''The Days of the Blue Windows'' was awarded the 2011 State Prize for Incentive for the Novel. In 2015, he published his first collection of short stories entitled ''Fragments''.

Works

Novels

* ''Obsession of Death'' (Original title: Hages Al Mawt), 1995 * ''The Naked Man'' (Original title: Rajulun A’ari), 1998 * ''Stable Life'' (Original title: Hayat Mustaqera), 2004 * ''Days of the Blue Windows'' (Original title: Ayam Al-nawafath Al-zarqaa), 2009 * ''People and Places'' (Original title: Nass w Amaken), 2010 * ''The Tales of Yusuf Tadrus'' (Original title: Hikayat Yusuf Tadrus), 2015 * ''Reem’s Conditions'' (Original title: Halatu Reem), 2017 * ''The Crow’s Sound'' (Original title: Sawt Al Ghurab), 2017 * ''The Commandments'' (Original title: Al Wasaya), 2018

Short stories

* ''Fragments'' (Original title: Qasasat), 2015

Awards and honors

* 2011: Won the State Encouragement Award for his novel ''The Days of the Blue Window'' * 2016: Won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for his novel ''Tales of Yusuf Tadrus'' and was translated into English * 2019: His novel ''The Commandments'' won the Sawiris Award and was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

References

Living people Egyptian novelists Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Egyptian writers 1959 births {{Egypt-writer-stub