Amin Zaoui
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Amin Zaoui (born 25 November 1956) is an Algerian novelist. He was born in Bab el Assa in
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...
province and studied at the
University of Oran The Oran 1 University Ahmed Ben Bella (, ), formally known as Es Senia University, is a university located in Es Sénia in the south suburb of Oran in the wilaya of Oran. It was established in November 1961 as part of the University of Algiers. ...
, obtaining a PhD in
comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
. He moved to France during the
Algerian civil war The Algerian Civil War (), known in Algeria as the Black Decade (, ), was a civil war fought between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups from 11 January 1992 (following a 1992 Algerian coup d'état, coup negating an Islami ...
, but returned home in 1999. He has served as the Director General of the
National Library of Algeria The National Library of Algeria (; ) was first established in 1835 by the French colonial government, before becoming Algeria's national library when the country gained its independence in 1962. A new building for the library was constructed du ...
, and currently teaches comparative literature at the Central Algerian University. Zaoui is a bilingual writer, and has published novels in both French and Arabic. His work has been translated into a dozen languages. Zaoui's French novel ''Festin de Mensonges'' has been translated into English by
Frank Wynne Frank Wynne (born 1962) is an Irish literary translator and writer. Biography Born in County Sligo in the west of Ireland, Frank Wynne worked as a comics editor at Fleetway and later at comic magazine '' Deadline''. He worked for a time at ...
. In 2012, his Arabic novel ''The Goatherd'' was nominated for the
Arabic Booker Prize 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 ...
. He has also translated French novels by
Mohamed Dib Mohammed Dib (; 21 July 1920 – 2 May 2003) was an Algerian author. He wrote over 30 novels, as well as numerous short stories, poems, and children's literature in the French language. His work covers the breadth of 19th century Algerian history ...
and
Yasmina Khadra Mohammed Moulessehoul (; born 10 January 1955), better known by the pen name Yasmina Khadra (), is an Algerian author living in France, who writes in French language, French. One of the most famous Algerian novelists in the world, he has written ...
into Arabic.


Selected works


Arabic novels

* ''The Neighing of the Body'' (1985) * ''The Tremor'' (1999) * ''Satan's Road'' (2009) * ''The Goatherd'' (2012) (nominated for the Arabic Booker Prize)


French novels

* ''La Soumission'' (1998) * ''Haras de Femmes'' (2001) * ''Festin de Mensonges'' (2007) (English translation: ''Body of Lies'' by Frank Wynne) * ''La Chambre de la Vierge Impure'' (2009) * ''Le miel de la sieste'' (2014) * ''L'enfant de l'oeuf'' (2017)


References

Algerian novelists 1956 births Living people University of Oran alumni 21st-century Algerian people {{Algeria-writer-stub