Dima Wannous (; born 1982 in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

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 ...

) is a

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

literary writer and journalist. She studied

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

and the University of Paris - Sorbonne. She also studied translation in France and has lived in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, where she worked for the newspapers ''

Al-Hayat ''Al-Hayat'' ( ''Life'') was an Arabic newspaper based in Beirut from its founding 28 January 1946 to 1976 and in London after its refounding in 1988. It was a pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation ...

'' and ''

As-Safir ''As-Safir'' () was a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. The headquarters of the daily was in Beirut. It was in circulation from March 1974 until December 2016. The last issue of the paper was published on 31 December 2016. The o ...

''. She has also worked for broadcast media (radio and TV).

Life and career

Wannous first became known with ''Tafasil'' (''Details''), a short story collection released in 2007, which describes the Syrian society focussing on different characters with "ironic-grotesque overtones" and showing how they bow to power. She published her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

''Kursi'' (''The Chair'') in 2008. In 2009, she was named one of the

Beirut39 Beirut39 is a collaborative project between the Hay Festival, Beirut UNESCO's World Book Capital 2009 celebrations, '' Banipal'' magazine and the British Council among others in order to identify 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age ...

, a group of 39 Arab writers under the age of 40 chosen through a contest by Banipal magazine and the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

. Her 2017 novel ''Kha'ifoun'' (''The Frightened Ones''), describes the life of a young woman in Damascus during the Syrian civil war who receives a manuscript from a former lover who had fled to Germany. The book was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and has been translated into English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Turkish, and Norwegian. Her narrative style has been described as "sober and often painfully precise". Dima Wannous is the daughter of Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous. She is married to the Syrian journalist Ibrahim Hamidi and both live in London.Bozar
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References

External links

Dima Wannous short story ''Sahar,'' translated from Arabic by Ghenwa Hayek
at Banipal magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Wannous, Dima 1982 births 20th-century novelists 20th-century translators 20th-century short story writers 20th-century Syrian women writers 20th-century Syrian writers 21st-century Syrian women writers 21st-century Syrian writers Syrian women novelists Syrian novelists Syrian women short story writers Syrian short story writers Writers from Damascus Living people University of Paris alumni Syrian Alawites

Life and career

See also

References

External links