Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
Encyclopedia
The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a literary award
for Arabic literature
. It is given to the best contemporary novel written in Arabic, but not available in English translation. The winning book is then translated into English, and published by American University in Cairo Press. It was first awarded in 1996 and is presented annually on December 11, the birthday of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz
, by the President of the American University in Cairo
.
Literary award
A literary award is an award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing . There are also awards...
for Arabic literature
Arabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
. It is given to the best contemporary novel written in Arabic, but not available in English translation. The winning book is then translated into English, and published by American University in Cairo Press. It was first awarded in 1996 and is presented annually on December 11, the birthday of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism. He published over 50 novels, over 350 short stories, dozens of movie...
, by the President of the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
.
Winners
- 2010: Miral al-TahawyMiral al-TahawyMiral al-Tahawy is an award-winning Egyptian novelist and short story writer. She comes from a conservative Bedouin background and is regarded as a pioneering literary figure...
, Brooklyn Heights - 2009: Khalil SweilehKhalil SweilehKhalil Sweileh is a Syrian journalist and novelist. He was born in Al-Hasakah District and studied literature at Damascus University. He has since worked for a number of cultural publications in various capacities....
, The Scribe of Love - 2008: Hamdi Abu GolayyelHamdi Abu GolayyelHamdi Abu Golayyel is an Egyptian writer. He was born in 1967/68 in a Bedouin village in the Fayoum region. His ancestors arrived from Libya in the early 19th century to settle in Fayoum. Abu Golayyel migrated to Cairo in the early 1980s, and worked as a construction labourer on building sites...
, A Dog with No Tail - 2007: Amina ZaydanAmina ZaydanAmina Zaydan is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer. She was born in 1966 in Suez and now lives in Cairo where she works as a civil servant.Zaydan is known for her strong stand on gender inequality in her writings...
, Red Wine - 2006: Sahar KhalifehSahar KhalifehSahar Khalifeh is a Palestinian writer born in 1942 in Nablus of the West Bank. After studying at the University of Birzeit, in the Palestinian occupied territories, she received a Fulbright scholarship and went to continue her studies in the US...
, The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant - 2005: Yusuf Abu RayyaYusuf Abu RayyaYusuf Abu Rayya was an Egyptian author. He was born in 1955 in Hihya in the Sharqiya Governorate, and studied journalism at Cairo University. His first published book was a collection of short stories in 1985, followed by his first novel in 1989. He wrote over a dozen books including novels,...
, Wedding Night - 2004: Alia MamdouhAlia MamdouhAlia Mamdouh also spelled Aliyah Mamduh is an Iraqi novelist, author and journalist living in exile in Paris, France. She won the 2004 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her novel The Loved Ones...
, The Loved Ones - 2003: Khairy ShalabyKhairy ShalabyKhairy Shalaby was an Egyptian novelist and writer. He wrote some 70 books, including twenty novels, critical studies, historical tales, plays and short story collections...
, The Lodging House - 2002: Bensalem Himmich, The Polymath
- 2001: Somaya RamadanSomaya RamadanSomaya Yehia Ramadan is an Egyptian academic, translator and award-winning writer. She was born in Cairo in 1951 and studied English at Cairo University...
, Leaves of Narcissus - 2000: Hoda BarakatHoda BarakatHoda Barakat is an acclaimed Lebanese novelist who lived much of her life in Beirut and later moved to Paris, where she now resides...
, The Tiller of Waters - 1999: Edwar al-KharratEdwar al-KharratEdwar al-Kharrat is an Egyptian novelist, writer and critic. He was born in Alexandria to a Coptic Christian family. He studied law at Alexandria University and worked briefly in banking and insurance. He was also actively engaged in left-wing politics and spent two years in jail from 1948–50...
, Rama and the Dragon - 1998: Ahlam MosteghanemiAhlam MosteghanemiAhlam Mosteghanemi is a notable Algerian writer born in Tunis, the daughter of revolutionary leader Mohammed Chérif. She is the first female Algerian author of Arabic-language works to be translated into English . Thus far, the first two of a trilogy have been translated...
, Memory in the Flesh - 1997: Mourid BarghoutiMourid BarghoutiMourid Barghouti or Mureed Barghouti or Murid Barguti or Murid Barghuti is a Palestinian poet and writer....
, I Saw Ramallah; and Yusuf IdrisYusuf IdrisYusuf Idris, also Yusif Idris was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels. Idris originally trained to be a doctor, studying at the University of Cairo...
, City of Love and Ashes - 1996: Ibrahim Abdel MeguidIbrahim Abdel MeguidIbrahim Abdel Meguid is an award-winning Egyptian novelist and author. He was born in Alexandria in 1946 and studied philosophy at Alexandria University. He obtained his BA in 1973 and moved to Cairo the following year. He published his first novel around the same time. Among his best known works...
, The Other Place; and Latifa al-ZayyatLatifa al-ZayyatLatifa al-Zayyat was born the 8 August 1923 in the city of Damietta in Egypt and is known as an activist and writer. She earned her Bachelors degree in English in 1946 from Cairo University and earned her PhD at the same university in 1957...
, The Open Door