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 The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

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

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / 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 (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

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 the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

Foundation in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 Yasir Suleiman CBE is a scholar of Arabic literature and language, and modern Middle Eastern politics. He is Emeritus Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Professor of Modern Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge. He is a Palestinian Arab living in t ...

CBE, Professor of Arabic, University of Cambridge, Chair of Trustees * Evelyn Smith, Booker Prize Foundation, Company Secretary * Isobel Abulhoul OBE, CEO, Emirates Literature Foundation * Yassin Adnan, Moroccan journalist, broadcaster and writer * Abdulla Majed Al Ali, 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, poet, script writer and a multi-award-winning Emirati filmmaker *

Rasheed El-Enany Rasheed El-Enany (born 1949) is an Egyptian literary scholar, who specializes in modern Arabic literature. He is Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature, and Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. ...

, Egyptian literary scholar, Professor Emeritus of the University of Exeter * Omar Ghobash, Emirati author, businessman, and diplomat * Rana Idriss, Director of publisher Dar al-Adab, Beirut * Michel S. Moushabeck, Founder and President of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc., writer, editor, and musician, USA *

Zaki Nusseibeh Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh (Arabic: زكي انور نسيبة) is the Cultural Advisor 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, ...

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

Ahdaf Soueif Ahdaf Soueif (; 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 linguistics at the Universit ...

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

Fleur Montanaro Fleur(s) is French for flower(s). Fleur(s) may refer to: Music * Flëur, a Ukrainian band * ''Fleurs'' (Franco Battiato album), 1999 * ''Fleurs'' (Former Ghosts album), 2009 * ''Les Fleurs'' (album), by Ramsey Lewis, 1983 *''Fleurs 2'', a 200 ...

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

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 ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. 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 *

Ghalia Qabbani Ghalia Qabbani is a Syrian writer and journalist. She grew up in Kuwait, but was forced to leave after the Iraqi invasion in 1990. She studied law at a university and graduated in 1979. She has worked as a journalist ever since, including stints ...

* Mohammed Bennis *

Mohammed Berrada Mohammed Berrada (), 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.Salim Jay, "Dictionnaire des ...

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 ...

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, Cairo ...

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: Fakhri ...

* Hartmut Faehndrich * Mohammad al-Murr *

* Youmna el Eid

2010

Taleb Alrefai Taleb Alrefai (born 1958) is a Kuwaiti journalist and writer, born in Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Ar ...

* Raja' Ben Salamah * Saif al-Rahbi *

Frédéric LaGrange Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

2011

Fadhil al-Azzawi Fadhil Al Azzawi (Arabic: فاضل العزاوي; born 1940) is a prominent Iraqi poet and writer. He has published ten volumes of poetry, six novels, three books of criticism and memoir, and several translations of German literary works. He par ...

* Munira Al-Fadhel *

Isabella Camera D'Afflitto Isabella Camera d'Afflitto (born 1948 in Salerno) is an Italian academic and translator, regarded as one of Italy's leading Arabists. She teaches modern Arabic literature at La Sapienza University in Rome, and has written numerous books and schol ...

Amjad Nasser Amjad Nasser (), known with the pseudonym of Yahya Numeiri al-Naimat (), (1955 – 31 October 2019) was a London-based Jordanian writer, journalist and poet and one of the pioneers of modern Arabic poetry and Arabic prose poem. Biography Born ...

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 * Maudie Bitar * Hoda Elsadda * Huda al-Naimi *

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 Tangier, t ...

2013

* Galal Amin * Sobhi al-Boustan * Ali Ferzat * Barbara Michalak-Pikulska * Zahia Smail Salhi

2014

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

Abdullah Ibrahim Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934), previously 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 (, ; 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 literature at Cairo University, grad ...

(Chair) * Ayman A. El-Desouky * Parween Habib * Najim A. Kadhim * 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, Lebanese poet and author * Mohammed Ait Hanna, a Moroccan writer, translator and lecturer of Philosophy at the Regional Centre for Teaching Careers and Training in Casablanca * Safa Jubran, a lecturer of Arabic Language and Modern Literature at the University of San Paolo in Brazil * Ali Al-Muqri, 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

2022

* Shukri Mabkhout * Ashur Etwebi * Iman Humaydan * Saadiah Mufarreh * Baian Rayhanova

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 ...

Khaled Khalifa Khaled Khalifa (; 1 January 1964 – 30 September 2023) was a Syrian novelist, screenwriter and poet. He was nominated three times and shortlisted twice for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). Some of his novels have been transl ...

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 () (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 of the Manuscript Center a ...

Four nominations * Amir Tag Elsir *

Ibrahim Nasrallah Ibrahim Nasrallah (; 2 December 1954), the winner of the Arabic Booker Prize (2018), was born in 1954 to Palestinian parents who were evicted from their land in Al-Burayj, Palestine in 1948. He spent his childhood and youth in a refugee camp ...

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

* Waciny Laredj Countries The countries with the most nominations are: *

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, 34 *

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, 30 *

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, 22 *

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, 20

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

and the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

have one nomination each.

IPAF Nadwa

* For details of the annual writers' workshop, see International Prize for Arabic Fiction Nadwa.

References

External links

International Prize for Arabic Fiction
official multi-lingual site.
"Arab 'Booker' stirs up passion"
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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 Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham from 1983 to 1997 and Minister for Highe ...

, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'', 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 also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', 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 Novel awards