Hoda Barakat is a Lebanese novelist. She lived most of her early life in Beirut before moving to Paris, where she now resides. She has published six novels, two plays, a book of short stories, and a book of memoirs. Her works are originally written in Arabic and have been translated into English, Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Romanian, Dutch, and Greek.
Banipal is an independent literary magazine dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. It was founded in London in 1998 by Margaret Obank and Samuel Shimon. The magazine is published three times a year. Since its inception, it has published works and interviews of numerous Arab authors and poets, many of them translated for the first time into English. It is also co-sponsor of the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.
The Banipal Prize, whose full name is the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, is an annual prize awarded to a translator for the published English translation of a full-length literary work in the Arabic language. The prize was inaugurated in 2006 by the literary magazine Banipal which promotes the diffusion of contemporary Arabic literature through English translations and the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature. It is administered by the Society of Authors in the UK, and the prize money is sponsored by Omar Saif Ghobash and his family in memory of Ghobash's late father Saif Ghobash. As of 2009, the prize money amounted to £3000.
Humphrey T. Davies was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He worked for decades in the Arab world and was based in Cairo from the late 20th century to 2021. He translated at least 18 Arabic works into English, including contemporary literature. He is a two-time winner of the Banipal Prize.
Wajdi al-Ahdal is a Yemeni novelist, short story writer and playwright. Laureate of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2008, is known for his contemporary literary style and sometimes socially critical works, some of which have been censored in Yemen. Until 2019, he has published five novels, four collections of short stories, a play and a film screenplay.
Ali al-Muqri is a Yemeni novelist and writer. Two of his novels - Black Taste, Black Odour and The Handsome Jew - have been long-listed for the Arab Booker Prize. He also received a special commendation from the jury of the 2015 French Prize for Arabic Literature, for his novel Ḥurma, translated into French by Khaled Osman and Ola Mehanna.
Ali Mohammed Zayd is a Yemeni ambassador, writer and translator, currently living in Paris. He was delegate of Yemen to UNESCO from 1990–2000 and has published three novels, two historical works and translated works into Arabic from French and English. The author's work has been published in Banipal magazine.
Ahmad Zein is a critically-acclaimed Yemeni writer and journalist, currently living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He works for the Al-Hayat newspaper. He is the author of two novels and two short story collections. The author's work has been published in Banipal magazine. His novel Fruit for the Crows was longlisted for the 2021 Arabic Booker Prize.
William Maynard Hutchins is an American academic, author and translator of contemporary Arabic literature. He was formerly a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
Amir Tag Elsir, 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. His novels deal with contemporary social issues, like poverty, the lives of refugees or diseases, such as Ebola.
Paul Starkey is a British scholar and translator of Arabic literature.
Issa J. Boullata was a Palestinian scholar, writer, and translator of Arabic literature.
Habib Selmi is a Tunisian novelist and short story writer.
Abbas Beydoun is a Lebanese poet, novelist and journalist. His poems in Arabic have garnered widespread acclaim and have been translated into multiple languages.
Bashir Mufti is an Algerian novelist and writer. He was born in Algiers and started writing in the mid-1980s. He has published a number of novels and short story collections.
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.
Maia Tabet is an Arabic-English literary translator with a background in editing and journalism. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1956, she was raised in Lebanon, India, and England. She studied philosophy and political science at the American University in Beirut and lives between the United States and Cyprus.
Hassouna Mosbahi is a Tunisian author, literary critic and freelance journalist.
Elisabeth Jaquette is an American translator of modern Arabic literature. Her work has been shortlisted for the National Book Award and TA First Translation Prize, and supported by the Jan Michalski Foundation, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund, and several English PEN Translates Awards. She has a BA from Swarthmore College and an MA from Columbia University and was a CASA Fellow at The American University in Cairo. She is also Executive Director of the American Literary Translators Association.
Suslov's Daughter is a novel by Yemeni writer Habib Abdulrab Sarori. It was longlisted for the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. In 2017, Darf Publishers published an English translation by Elisabeth Jaquette.
