The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) ( ar, الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية) is the most prestigious and important literary prize in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing and to encourage the readership of high quality

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

internationally through the translation and publication of winning and shortlisted novels in other major languages. In addition to the prize itself, IPAF supports other literary initiatives. In 2009, IPAF launched its inaugural Nadwa (writers’ workshop) for emerging writers of fiction in Arabic. The prize is administered by the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

Foundation in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and is currently funded by Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT). Each year, the winner of the prize receives US$50,000, and the six shortlisted authors receive US$10,000 each.

Rules and entry

Full Rules of Entry are available to vie
here

Trustees

* Yasir Suleiman CBE, Professor of Arabic, University of Cambridge, Chair of Trustees *

Evelyn Smith Evelyn E. Smith (25 July 1922 – 4 July 2000) was an American writer of science fiction and mysteries, as well as a compiler of crossword puzzles. Profile During the 1950s, under her own name, Smith regularly published short stories and nove ...

, Booker Prize Foundation, Company Secretary * Isobel Abulhoul OBE, CEO, Emirates Literature Foundation *

Yassin Adnan Yassin Adnan (born 1970) is a Moroccan writer and broadcaster. He was born in Safi, but grew up in Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest cit ...

, Moroccan journalist, broadcaster and writer *

Abdulla Majed Al Ali {{disambiguation * Abdulla, other form of name Abd Allah * Arkin Abdulla, Uyhghur musician * Abdul Samad Abdulla, Maldivian politician and the Minister of Foreign Affairs * Shakhawan Abdulla, Iraqi politician Surnames of Maldivian origin ...

, executive director of the UAE national archive, columnist, formerly involved in a number of cultural initiatives in the UAE, including the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, the Kalima Translation Project, the Abu Dhabi Book Fair and Abu Dhabi libraries *

Nujoom Alghanem Nujoom Alghanem (born 24 October 1962) is an Emirati poet, artist and film director. She has published eight poetry collections and has directed more than twenty films. Alghanem is active in her community and is considered a well established wri ...

, poet, script writer and a multi-award-winning Emirati filmmaker * Rasheed El-Enany, Professor Emeritus of the University of Exeter * Omar Ghobash, Emirati author, businessman, and diplomat *

Rana Idriss Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a historic ...

, Director of publisher Dar al-Adab, Beirut *

Michel S. Moushabeck Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963) ...

, Founder and President of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., writer, editor, and musician, USA *

Zaki Nusseibeh Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh is the Cultural Adviser to the President of the UAE and the Chancellor of UAE University. He has been active in government service in the United Arab Emirates since its formation in 1971, and with the Government of the Emirat ...

, UAE Minister of State * Sherif-Joseph Rizk, Director of publishing house Dar al-Tanweer, Egypt *

Ahdaf Soueif Ahdaf Soueif ( ar, أهداف سويف; born 23 March 1950) is an Egyptian novelist and political and cultural commentator. Early life Soueif was born in Cairo, where she lives, and was educated in Egypt and England. She studied for a PhD in lin ...

, author and political and cultural commentator * Jonathan Taylor, former chair of the Booker Prize Foundation *

Fleur Montanaro Fleur or plural Fleurs is French for flower. It may refer to: * Fleur (given name) * "Fleur" (short story), a short story by Louise Erdrich *"Fleur" peut être une plante Music * Flëur, a Ukrainian music band * ''Fleurs'' (Franco Battiato albu ...

, Prize Administrator

Winners and nominees

= winner

2008

The winner was announced on 10 March 2008. The shortlist was announced on 29 January 2008, chosen from 131 entries.

2009

The winner was announced on 16 March 2009. The shortlist was announced on 10 December 2008. The longlist was announced on 11 November 2008, chosen from 121 entries.

2010

The winner was announced on 2 March 2010. The shortlist was announced on 15 December 2009. The longlist was announced on 17 November 2009, chosen from 115entries.

2011

The shortlist was announced 9 December 2010, chosen from a total of 123 submissions and a longlist of 16. The winners were announced on 14 March 2011, the eve of the

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is an annual book fair held in Abu Dhabi. It provides a platform where publishers, booksellers, agents, cultural organisations and press can meet, exchange ideas and identify business opportunities. Since ...

. This marked the first time the award had been split, as well as the first female winner ( Raja Alem).

2012

A total of 101 submissions from 15 countries were whittled down to a longlist of 13. This list was announced in November 2011. The final shortlist of six books was revealed on 11 January 2012. The winner was announced 27 March 2012.

2013

The longlist of 16 books was announced on 6 December 2012. The shortlist of six books was announced on 9 January 2013. The winner was announced on 23 April 2013.

2014

The longlist of 16 books was announced 7 January 2014. The shortlist of 6 books was announced 10 February 2014. The winner was announced 29 April 2014.

2015

The longlist. On 13 February 2015 the shortlist was announced. The winner was announced 6 May 2015.

2016

The longlist was announced on 12 January 2016. The winner was announced 26 April 2016.

2017

The winner was announced 25 April 2017.

2018

The longlist was announced on 17 January 2018. The winner was announced 24 April 2018.

2019

The shortlist was announced on 5 February 2019, chosen from a total of 134 submissions from 9

Arab countries The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. The shortlist titles

2020

The winner was announced on 14 April 2020. The shortlist was announced on 4 February 2020. The longlist was announced on 17 December 2019, chosen from 128 entries.

2021

The longlist was chosen on 1 March 2021, chosen from 121 entries. The shortlist was announced on 29 March 2021 and the winner on 25 May 2021.

Judges

The judges since 2008 are listed below:

2008

Feissal Darraj Faisal Darraj (born 1942) is a Palestinian literary and cultural critic. Life He was born in Al-Ja'una, a village in the Galilee in Palestine, but moved to Damascus, Syria with his family as part of the Palestinian exodus after the village was d ...

Ghalia Qabbani Ghalia Qabbani is a Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syria ...

Mohammed Bennis Mohammed Bennis ( ar, محمد بنيس; born 1948) is a Moroccan poet and one of the most prominent writers of modern Arabic poetry. Since the 1970s, he has enjoyed a particular status within Arab culture. Muhsin J al-Musawi states that "Bennis’ ...

Mohammed Berrada Mohammed Berrada ( ar, محمد برادة), also transliterated Muhammad Baradah (born 1938 in Rabat) is a Moroccan novelist, literary critic and translator writing in Arabic. He is considered one of Morocco's most important modern authors.Sali ...

Paul Starkey Paul Starkey is a British scholar and translator of Arabic literature. Life and career Starkey received his doctorate from Oxford University; the subject of his dissertation was the works of the Egyptian writer Tawfiq Hakim. He is emeritus pro ...

Samuel Shimon Samuel Shimon (born 1956 in Al-Habbaniyah, Iraq) is an Iraqi writer and journalist of Assyrian descent. He left Iraq in 1979 with dreams of becoming a director in Hollywood, and has since then lived in Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Nicosia, Aden, Ca ...

2009

Fakhri Saleh Fakhri or Fakhry or Fachri is an Arabic given name and surname. Fahri is the Turkish equivalent. Fakhri (in Arabic: فَخْري ''fakh·riy'', ''fakh·rī'', ''fakh·ry'') in the possessive form means "honorary, titulary". It may refer to: Fakhr ...

Hartmut Faehndrich Hartmut is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Hartmut of Saint Gall (died 905), Benedictine abbot *Hartmut Bagger (born 1938), retired German general of the Bundeswehr *Hartmut Becker (born 1938), German actor * Hartmut Boockmann ...

Mohammad al-Murr Mohammad Ahmad Mohammad Al Murr Al Falasi (born 1955 in Dubai) is a short-story writer from the United Arab Emirates. He has published over 15 volumes of short stories and has had two collections translated into English: ''Dubai Tales'' and ''The ...

* Rasheed El-Enany * Youmna el Eid

2010

* Taleb Alrefai * Raja' Ben Salamah *

Saif al-Rahbi Saif al-Rahbi (born 1956) is an Omani poet, essayist and writer. He was born in Oman in a village called Suroor. In 1970, while he was still in his early teens, al-Rahbi was sent to school in Cairo. Afterwards, he lived and worked abroad for many ...

* Frédéric LaGrange

2011

Fadhil al-Azzawi Fadhil Al Azzawi (Arabic: فاضل العزاوي ; born 1940 in Kirkuk, Iraq) is an Iraqi writer highly respected in the Arab world, as he has published ten volumes of poetry, six novels, three books of criticism and memoir, and several translat ...

Munira Al-Fadhel Munira A. Al-Fadhel (born 1958) is a Bahraini poet, editor, writer and academic. Personal life and education Al-Fadhel was born in 1958, and studied at the University of Essex, completing a doctorate in comparative literature. She was a Fulbr ...

* Isabella Camera D'Afflitto *

Amjad Nasser Amjad Nasser ( ar, أمجد ناصر), known with the pseudonym of Yahya Numeiri al-Naimat ( ar, يحيى النميري النعيمات), (1955 – 31 October 2019) was a London-based Jordanian writer, journalist and poet and one of the pionee ...

Said Yaktine Said Yaktine (born 1955) is a Moroccan writer and literary critic. Early life He was born in Casablanca. He obtained a PhD from the Mohammed the Fifth University in Rabat, and has worked as an academic ever since. He has published more than a ...

2012

Georges Tarabichi George Tarabishi (1939 – March 16, 2016; Arab. Jurj Tarabishi; Fr. Georges Tarabichi) was a Syrian writer, philosopher, and translator. He translated over 200 books into Arabic, including works by Hegel, Freud, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

* Maudie Bitar *

Hoda Elsadda Hoda Elsadda is Chair in the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at the University of Manchester. She serves as Co-Director of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW) in the UK, Associate Editor of the Online Edition of the '' ...

Huda al-Naimi Huda al-Naimi ( ar, هدى النعيمي) is a medical physicist and writer from Qatar. Biography Al-Naimi grew up a small town near Doha and studied Physics at the University of Qatar. She moved to Cairo in 1990 in order to study for a Maste ...

Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla is a noted Spanish scholar and translator of Arabic literature. Since 2006, he has taught at the Autonomous University of Madrid, but he has also collaborated and taught at the Abdelmalek Essaâdi University in Tangie ...

2013

* Galal Amin * Sobhi al-Boustan *

Ali Ferzat Ali Farzat or Ali Ferzat ( ar, علي فرزات; born 22 June 1951) is a Syrian political cartoonist. He has published more than 15,000 caricatures in Syrian, Arab and international newspapers. He serves as the head of the Arab Cartoonists Associ ...

Barbara Michalak-Pikulska Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously ...

* Zahia Smail Salhi

2014

* Saad A. Albazei (Chair) * Ahmed Alfaitouri * Zhor Gourram *

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...

* Mehmet Hakki Suçin

2015

Mourid Barghouti Mourid Barghouti ( ar, مريد البرغوثي, ; 8 July 1944 – 14 February 2021) was a Palestinian poet and writer. Biography Barghouti was born in Deir Ghassana, near Ramallah, on the West Bank, in 8 July 1944. He studied English lit ...

(Chair} *

Ayman A. El-Desouky Ayman ( ar, أيمن, also spelled as Aiman, Aimen, Aymen, or Eymen in the Latin alphabet) is an Arabic masculine given name. It is derived from the Arabic Semitic root () for ''right'', and literally means ''righteous'', ''he who is on the right ...

* Parween Habib *

Najim A. Kadhim Najim is an Arabic given name and a surname meaning "star". It may refer to: People Given name *Najim (singer), Algerian singer *Najim Arshad (born 1986), Indian playback singer and music director *Najim Haddouchi (born 1997), Dutch footballer of ...

* Kaoru Yamamoto

2019

*Chair: Charafdin Majdolin, Moroccan critic and academic * Fowziya Abu Khalid, Saudi Arabian poet, writer, academic and researcher i social and political issues *

Zulaikha Aburisha Zulaikha Abd ar-Rahman Abu Risha (born 1942; ) is a Jordanian poet and activist. She has been a vocal advocate of women's rights, particularly concerning making the Arabic language more gender-inclusive. Early life and education Zlaikha Abu Ris ...

, Jordanian poet and activist * Latif Zeitouni, Lebanese academic and literary critic * Zhang Hong Yi, Chinese translator and researcher

2020

*Chair: Muhsin al-Musawi, an Iraqi literary critic and Professor of Classical and Modern Arabic Literature, Comparative and Cultural Studies at Columbia University *

Pierre Abi Saab Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, a Lebanese critic, journalist and co-founder of the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper * Reem Magued, an Eqyptian broadcaster, television journalist and trainer in journalism and media *

Amin Zaoui Amin Zaoui (born 25 November 1956) is an Algerian novelist. He was born in Bab el Assa in Tlemcen province and studied at the University of Oran, obtaining a PhD in comparative literature. He moved to France during the Algerian civil war, but ret ...

, an Algerian novelist who writes in both Arabic and French, and Professor of Comparative Literature and Contemporary Thought at the Central University of Algiers *

Viktoria Zarytovskaya Viktoria usually refers to Viktoria, a name which is the same as Victoria (name), but may also refer to: Places * FK Viktoria Stadion, stadium of Viktoria Žižkov * Viktoria-Luise-Platz, building in Berlin * Viktoriastadt, now known as Victo ...

, a Russian academic, researcher and translator of numerous works of Arabic literature into Russian including Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad, winner of the prize in 2014

2021

*Chair:

Chawki Bazih Ahmed Chawki ( ar, أحمد شوقي; born 31 May 1982), known professionally by his stage name Chawki, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter and producer. Chawki began his career in the early 2000s. He had a music band named La Paloma which mainly fo ...

, Lebanese poet and author *

Mohammed Ait Hanna Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

, a Moroccan writer, translator and lecturer of Philosophy at the Regional Centre for Teaching Careers and Training in Casablanca *

Safa Jubran Safa may refer to: Sudhir Chubby Puddy Buddhavarapu Venkata Ramana Murthy Organizations * Al Safa FC, sports club in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia * Safa SC, an association football club in Lebanon **Safa WFC, a women's association foot ...

, a lecturer of Arabic Language and Modern Literature at the University of San Paolo in Brazil *

Ali Al-Muqri Ali al-Muqri (Arabic: علي المقري) (born in Taiz) is a Yemeni novelist and writer. Two of hisnovels - ''Black Taste, Black Odour'' and ''The Handsome Jew'' - have been long-listed for the Arab Booker Prize. He has also been awarded the F ...

, a Yemeni writer twice longlisted for IPAF in 2009 and 2011 respectively * Ayesha Sultan, an Emirati author, journalist, founding director of Warrak Publishing House and Vice President of the Emirates Writers Union

Statistics

As of 2020, the following authors have been nominated at least three times: Three nominations * Antoine Douaihy *

Inaam Kachachi Inaam Kachachi (Arabic:انعام كجه جي; born 1952) is an Iraqi journalist and author. Inaam is an Iraqi writer, born in Baghdad in 1952. She studied journalism at Baghdad University, working in Iraqi press and radio before moving to Paris t ...

Khaled Khalifa Khaled Khalifa (born 1964) ( ar, خالد خليفة, sometimes in English written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferre ...

Renée Hayek Renée Hayek (Arabic: رينيه الحايك) is a Lebanese writer and novelist. She was born in Sarba and studied philosophy at the Lebanese University in Beirut. She has published a number of books, including short story collections and novels ...

Youssef Ziedan Youssef Ziedan ( ar, يوسف زيدان) (born June 30, 1958) is an Egyptian writer and scholar who specializes in Arabic and Islamic studies. He is a public lecturer, columnist, and prolific author of more than 50 books. He is also director ...

Four nominations *

Amir Tag Elsir Amir Tag Elsir (, born 1960), also written Amir Taj al-Sir, is a Sudanese medical doctor and novelist, writing in Arabic. He has published more than 20 works of poetry, biography and novels, some of these translated into English or other languages ...

* Ibrahim Nasrallah *

Jabbour Douaihy Jabbour Douaihy (; 1949 – 23 June 2021) was a critically-acclaimed Lebanese writer, translator, and professor of literature. His novels were nominated four times for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and he has also published transl ...

Rabee Jaber Rabee Jaber ( ar, ربيع جابر; born 1972) is a Lebanese novelist and journalist, born in Beirut, Lebanon. Life Jaber studied Physics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He is also editor of ''Afaaq'' (in Arabic آفاق meaning H ...

Waciny Laredj Waciny Laredj (Arabic: واسيني الأعرج, pronounced Wasini al-A'raj) (born 8 August 1954) is an Algerian novelist, short story writer and academic. Biography Laredj was born in Sidi Bou Jnan in Tlemcen province. He obtained a BA in A ...

Countries The countries with the most nominations are: *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

, 34 *

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, 30 *

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, 22 * Syria, 20 Sudan,

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

have one nomination each.

IPAF Nadwa

* For details of the annual writers' workshop, see

International Prize for Arabic Fiction Nadwa The International Prize for Arabic Fiction Nadwa is an annual writers' workshop for young writers from the Arab world. Held under the aegis of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (itself funded by the Emirates Foundation in Abu Dhabi), th ...

References

External links

International Prize for Arabic Fiction
official multi-lingual site.
"Arab 'Booker' stirs up passion"
{dead link, date=November 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes , by

George Walden George Gordon Harvey Walden (born 15 September 1939) is an English journalist, former diplomat and former politician for the Conservative Party, who served as MP for Buckingham from 1983 to 1997 and Minister for Higher Education under Marg ...

, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'', Mar 12, 2008
"Prize to rekindle Arabic fiction"
by Simeon Kerr, ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...

'', March 11, 2008
"Award cycle: Ipaf draws in writers while readers simply lap up winners"
''The Gulf Today'', November 9, 2013 Arabic literary awards Emirati literary awards Awards established in 2008 2008 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Fiction awards