The International Prize for Arabic Fiction has unveiled a longlist of 16 novels in contention for the 2022 award, the winner of which will receive a $50,000 cash prize.
Organisers said five judges chose the list from among 122 entries from nine countries. It includes Emirati author Reem Alkamali for her book Rose's Diary. This is the first time Alkamali, whose first novel The Straits of Hormuz was published in 2013, has made it to the award's longlist.
Some of the authors in the 2022 list have been previously recognised by the Ipaf, including Egyptian novelist Ezzedine Choukri Fishere, longlisted in 2009 for Intensive Care and shortlisted in 2012 for Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge, and Eritrean writer Haji Jabir, longlisted in 2019 for Black Foam.
Entries this year cover an extensive range of topics, from the struggle for artists to survive while facing war and state persecution, to the relationship between East and West, freedom, motherhood and gender roles.
Jordanian writer Jalal Barjas won the prize last year for his work Notebooks of the Bookseller – about a down and out bookseller who sets off on a journey of self-discovery – announced at an online ceremony in May. Besides receiving the monetary prize, Barjas was also given funding towards securing an English translation of his novel.
The Ipaf is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
This year's panel of five judges is chaired by Tunisian novelist and previous Ipaf winner Shukri Mabkhout, who won the award for his 2015 book The Italian. Joining him are Libyan doctor, poet and translator Ashur Etwebi, Lebanese writer and Pen International board member Iman Humaydan, Kuwaiti poet and critic Saadiah Mufarreh and Bulgarian academic and translator Baian Rayhanova.
"Submissions for the Prize this year were of high quality, proving once again that the revival and development of the Arabic novel make it the best literary genre to give expression to the concerns of Arab peoples today, in their different local environments," Mabkhout said.
All the novels selected for the 2022 longlist were published in Arabic between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. Out of the 16, six books will be shortlisted with the titles revealed in March, and the eventual winner named in May. All six shortlisted authors will also receive $10,000 each.
The full longlist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2022:
- Nizar Aghri – In Search of Azar (Syria)
- Boumediene Belkebir – The Alley of the Italians (Algeria)
- Yaa'rab al-Eissa – The White Minaret (Syria)
- Belal Fadl – Mother of Mimi (Egypt)
- Ezzedine Choukri Fishere – Farah's Story (Egypt)
- Tarek Imam – Cairo Maquette (Egypt)
- Haji Jabir – The Abyssinian Rimbaud (Eritrea)
- Reem Alkamali – Rose's Diary (UAE)
- Bushra Khalfan – Dilshad (Oman)
- Mohsine Loukili – The Prisoner of the Portuguese (Morocco)
- Khaled Nasrallah – The White Line of Night (Kuwait)
- Mohammed al-Nu'as – Bread on the Table of Uncle Milad (Libya)
- Rouchdi Redouane – The Hungarian (Algeria)
- Mona al-Shammari – The Maids of the Shrine (Kuwait)
- Dima al-Shukr – Where Is My Name? (Syria)
- Mohamed Tawfik – The Whisper of the Scorpion (Egypt)
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Cracks in the Wall
Ben White, Pluto Press
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Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
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Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Results
Men's finals
45kg:Duc Le Hoang (VIE) beat Zolfi Amirhossein (IRI) points 29-28. 48kg: Naruephon Chittra (THA) beat Joseph Vanlalhruaia (IND) TKO round 2.
51kg: Sakchai Chamchit (THA) beat Salam Al Suwaid (IRQ) TKO round 1. 54kg: Veerasak Senanue (THA) beat Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) 30-25.
57kg: Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) RSC round 3. 60kg: Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 30-27.
63.5kg: Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE) 29-28. 67kg: Narin Wonglakhon (THA) beat Mohammed Mardi (UAE) 29-28.
71kg: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) w/o Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ). 75kg: Youssef Abboud (LBN) w/o Ayoob Saki (IRI).
81kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Khaled Tarraf (LBN) 29-28. 86kg: Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Emil Umayev (KAZ) 30-27.
91kg: Hamid Reza Kordabadi (IRI) beat Mohamad Osaily (LBN) RSC round 1. 91-plus kg: Mohammadrezapoor Shirmohammad (IRI) beat Abdulla Hasan (IRQ) 30-27.
Women's finals
45kg: Somruethai Siripathum (THA) beat Ha Huu Huynh (VIE) 30-27. 48kg: Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Colleen Saddi (PHI) 30-27.
51kg: Wansawang Srila Or (THA) beat Thuy Phuong Trieu (VIE) 29-28. 54kg: Ruchira Wongsriwo (THA) beat Zeinab Khatoun (LBN) 30-26.
57kg: Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Zahra Nasiri Bargh (IRI) 30-27. 60kg: Kaewrudee Kamtakrapoom (THA) beat Sedigheh Hajivand (IRI) TKO round 2.
63.5kg: Nadiya Moghaddam (IRI) w/o Reem Al Issa (JOR).
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
