International Prize For Arabic Fiction Unveils Diverse Longlist For 2025 Award

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) has announced the 16 novels that have made it to the longlist for the 2025 award. This selection was made from 124 submissions by a panel of five judges, led by Egyptian academic Mona Baker. The panel also includes Moroccan academic and critic Said Bengrad, Emirati critic and academic Maryam Al Hashimi, Lebanese researcher and academic Bilal Orfali, and Finnish translator Sampsa Peltonen.

Mona Baker highlighted the diversity in themes and literary forms among this year's longlisted novels. Among the authors, Rashid al-Daif, Sausan Jamil Hasan, and Taissier Khalaf have been previously longlisted. Azher Jirjees has been both long- and shortlisted before. Twelve authors are new to the list: Aqeel Almusawi, Inam Bioud, Ahmed Fal Al Din, Jan Dost, Iman Humaydan, Hasan Kamal, Ahmed Al-Malawany, Mohamed Samir Nada, Nadia Najar, Haneen Al-Sayegh, Sumar Shihada, and Ayman Ragab Taher.

Professor Yasir Suleiman, Chair of the Board of Trustees, noted that the longlist reflects a trend of examining historical events to provide insights into current issues from various viewpoints. The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is an annual award for Arabic novels. It offers $50,000 to the winner and is supported by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.

The shortlist will be revealed on Wednesday, 19th February 2025 at Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt. The winner will be announced on Thursday, 24th April 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, IPAF is introducing its first editing workshop aimed at enhancing skills within the Arab publishing sector. This workshop will occur from 18th to 22nd January in Jordan at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation.

This initiative seeks to promote excellence in publishing across the Arab world.

With inputs from WAM