DIARY NOTE: Shortlist Announcement and Events in Amman, Jordan
15/02/2018
Shortlist announcement: Wednesday 21 February 2018
The shortlist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2018 will be revealed on Wednesday 21 February 2018 at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, in Amman, Jordan. Comprising six novels, it will be chosen by the 2018 judging panel – Ibrahim Al Saafin (Chair), Inam Bioud, Jamal Mahjoub, Mahmoud Shukair and Barbara Skubic – from the longlist of 16 novels (see below) from 10 countries, all published between July 2016 and June 2017.
The programme of shortlist events is outlined below:
Shortlist press conference
Wednesday 21 February, 11.00–13.00
Address: Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, AL Kullyah Al-Ilmiyah St. 15, Jabal Amman
Three of this year’s judging panel – Ibrahim Al Saafin (Chair), Mahmoud Shukair and Barbara Skubic – will announce the six shortlisted books in contention for the $50,000 prize. They will be joined by the prize’s chair of trustees Yasir Suleiman and administrator Fleur Montanaro. The event will be followed by an informal reception.
(This event is bilingual)
10 Years of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Wednesday 21 February, 18.30–20.00
Address: Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, AL Kullyah Al-Ilmiyah St. 15, Jabal Amman
A discussion on a decade of the prize and its impact, the current state of Arabic literature and translation, as well as this year’s shortlist. Moderated by ADSF’s Muwafaq Malkawi, the panel includes: chair of trustees Yasir Suleiman; 2018 chair of judges Ibrahim Saafin; 2017 chair of judges Sahar Khalifa; and former IPAF shortlisted author and nadwa participant Shahla Ujayli.
(This event is in Arabic)
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony held at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 24 April, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The six shortlisted finalists will receive $10,000, with a further $50,000 going to the winner.
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is an annual literary prize for prose fiction in Arabic. It is run with the support, as its mentor, of the Booker Prize Foundation in London and sponsored by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT).