Saif al-Adel is an Egyptian former special forces officer and explosives expert who is widely considered to be the de facto leader of al-Qaeda. A founding member of the group, he was previously a member of its governing Shura council and had headed its military committee since 2001. "Saif al-Adel", which translates literally as "sword of justice", is the pseudonym of a former colonel in Egypt's El-Sa'ka Force commandos during the 1980s. His real name is Mohamed Salah al-Din Zaidan.
Ibrahim Nasrallah, 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 in Jordan, and began his career as a teacher in Saudi Arabia. After returning to Amman, he worked in the media and cultural sectors till 2006 when he dedicated his life to writing. To date, he has published 15 poetry collections, 22 novels, and several other books. In 1985, he started writing the Palestinian Comedy covering 250 years of modern Palestinian history in a series of novels in which each novel is an independent one; to date 13 novels have been published in the framework of this project. Five of his novels and a volume of poetry have been published in English, nine in Persian, four works in Italian, two in Spanish, and one novel in Danish and Turkish.
Alia Mamdouh is an Iraqi novelist, author, and journalist living in exile in Paris, France.
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.
Jabalia Camp is a Palestinian refugee camp created by the United Nations following Israel's war of independence in 1948. Despite its name, it is nowadays an urban agglomeration located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) north of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip. It is the largest refugee camp in Palestinian territory, with more than 100,000 inhabitants.
The American University in Cairo Press is the leading English-language publisher in the Middle East.
Mansoura Ez-Eldin is an Egyptian novelist and journalist.
Jabbour Douaihy 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 translations, short story collections, and children's books. His work, mostly originally in Arabic, has been translated several languages, including English and French.
Mansour El Souwaim is a Sudanese writer and journalist. He has published both novels and short stories. He was invited to join the first IPAF Nadwa as well as the Beirut39 young Arab writers project, and has received international recognition through translations of his novels into English and French.
Mohammed Hasan Alwan is a Saudi Arabian novelist. He was born in Riyadh and studied Computer Information Systems at King Saud University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 2002. He also obtained an MBA from the University of Portland, Oregon in 2008 and Ph.D from Carleton University, Ottawa in 2016.
The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist is a 1974 satirical fiction book by Emile Habibi.
Hammour Ziada is a Sudanese writer and journalist, born in Omdurman. He has worked as a civil society and human rights researcher, and currently works as journalist in Cairo. Before, he had been writing for a number of left-wing newspapers in Sudan. Two of his novels were selected for Arabic literary awards and appeared in English translations.
Atef Abu Saif is a Palestinian writer. He was born in Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He studied at the University of Birzeit and the University of Bradford, before going on to obtain a PhD from the European University Institute in Florence.
Haji Jabir is an Eritrean novelist and journalist. He was born in the city of Massawa on the Red Sea coast. Writing in Arabic, he has published five novels until 2021. With the nomination of Black Foam (2018), Jabir became the first Eritrean novelist to be longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Adam Fathi, a Tunisian poet, translator, and lyric poet. He was known for his committed poetry style in the 1980s with the "Musical Research" band. In the 1990s, he accompanied the artist Lotfi Bouchnka in his lyrical project, writing the emotional and patriotic song. He translated into Arabic the Baudelaire's memoirs and works by Emil Cioran, Gilbert Sinoue and Naim Kattan. Also, he wrote some songs for several musical bands such as Sheikh Imam "Oh My Son", Musical research Band, and the White Doves Band.
Leila Al Mutawa is a Bahraini novelist and journalist. She is known for writing novels centering frankly on the female perspective in a society with strong fundamentalist elements.
Maya Abu Al-Hayat (1980) is a Palestinian novelist, poet, storyteller, and translator, born in Beirut. She has published three novels and three collections of poetry. Her books have gained worldwide recognition, and some of her stories have been translated into different languages. Abu Al-Hayat also worked as an actress and ran the Palestine Writing Workshop. Abu Al-Hayat played a prominent role in children's literature, writing and presenting television programs for children, including "Iftah Ya Simsim," and was distinguished by her writing of children's stories.
The Scents of Marie-Claire is the seventh novel by Tunisian novelist Habib Selmi. The novel was first published in Lebanon in 2008 by the House of Literature for Publishing and Distribution. The novel was translated into a variety of languages, including English, French, Italian, and German, and made it to the final "short" list of the 2009 World Prize for Arabic Novel, known as the "Arab Booker Prize".
In Praise of Hatred is the third novel by the Syrian novelist Khaled Khalifa. However, the novel was published for the first time in Dar Amisa for Publishing and Distribution, specifically in Beirut year 2006. Then, got published again by Dar Al- Adab for Publishing and Distribution in Lebanon. Moreover, has been translated into eight more languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian and German. As it was entered into the “short” list of the international Prize for Arabic Fiction, known as the. Next, it was longlisted Foreign Fiction Prize, year 2013. It also appeared on at least one list of the 100 best novels of all time.
ArabLit is an online magazine for information about translations of Arabic literature into English. The editors also publish ArabLit Quarterly as a print and electronic magazine, books with selected contemporary Arabic literary works and a daily newsletter about current publications of different genres of Arabic literature in English translation.
