Prominent Arab writers and intellectuals to join the Sharjah International Book Fair 2016

An elite group of Arab authors, literary figures, and intellectuals have confirmed participation at the 35th edition of Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2016, an 11-day fair organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), to be held from 2 and 12 November 2016, at the Sharjah Expo Centre.    

Popularly known as the world's best-known woman novelist in the Arabc world, Ahlam Mosteghanemi from Algeria will be visiting SIBF 2016. Her novels and poetic works include Memory in the Flesh, Chaos of the Senses, Black Suits You So Well, and The Bridges of Constantine, among others. Also coming from Algeria is novelist, short story writer and academic, Wasini Al Araj. He is professor at the University of Algiers and Sorbonne University. He has several novels to his credit, including Jessamine Necklace, Butterfly Kingdome, and Ashes of the East.

Visitors at the fair will get the chance to meet Hanan Mofeed Fawzy, a renowned television presenter and journalist from Egypt, who is well known as the 'Interviewer'. ‘Fawazeer Ramadan’ (Puzzles of Ramadan) and ‘Hadeeth Al Madina’ (Talk of the Town) are some of his most popular programmes radio and television programmes. Writer Mohammed Rabee, who wrote the novel Mercury, also from Egypt, will be among the prominent Arab guests at the fair.

From Palestine, novelist Rabi Al Madhoun, the first from his country to win the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba; and short story writer Mahmoud Shukair, the author of Surat Shakira (Shakira’s Picture) and Ibnat Khalaty Condoleezza (My cousin Condoleezza), will be present at the book fair.

Also participating is Jordanian novelist and poet Ibrahim Nasr Allah whose most popular works include Barari Al Humma (Prairies of Fever), Zaman Al Khyoul Al Baydha (The Time of White Horses), and Shurfat Al Haweyah (Balcony of Disgrace).

Other Arab guests include Saudi poet and writer Mohammed Al Muqrin who released three poetry collections, titled: ‘Malikat Al Tohr’ (Queen of Purity), ‘Onshoudat Al Kharif’ (Song of Autumn) and ‘Ahdath Layl’ (The Most Recent Night). Attending the fair from Kuwait is novelist Taleb Al Refai who chaired the Judging Panel of the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He has to his credit several works of fiction, including Hakaya Ramliya (Sand Tales), Sareqat Saghera (Small Thefts), Dhel Al Shams (Shadow of the Sun), Raehat Al Bahr (Smell of the Sea) and Al Thawb (The Dress).

Famous Lebanese writer and university professor Charbel Dagher and his compatriot George Yaraq are among Arab intellectuals who will be seen at SIBF 2016. Dagher authored Futat Al Bayadh, Rashm, Takht Sharqi, Hateb Lail, and La Tabhath An Mana La'alaho Yalqak. Yaraq, author of The Guard of Dead, featured on the shortlist of the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for this particular work.

Coming in from Sudan will be novelist and journalist Hamed Al Nazir, who wrote The Prophecy of Al Saqa, longlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He also wrote the novel Fareej Al Murar, which won the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in 2014.

Young Moroccan novelist and writer, Tareq Bakari, who was shortlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction and won the 2016 Moroccan Book Prize for his novel Numidia, will also be attending the fair. He will be joined by his local contemporary in the field, Abdennour MezzineAbdennour Mezzine.

Syrian writers at SIBF 2016 will include Mahmoud Hassan Salem, author of Mariam's Journey; and writer Shahla Sky Close to Our House by Shahla Ujayli (Syria Ujayli, whose novel, A Sky Close to our House, were on the shortlist and the long list of the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, respectively. Her novel, The Cat's Eye, won the Jordan State Award for Literature in 2009.

The Sharjah International Book Fair continues to gain in popularity and plays a role in enriching cultural communication, inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. SIBF has only grown in scale and prestige since its first edition was inaugurated in 1982 – a fact reflected in the overwhelming response to the fair’s 34th edition’s in 2015 – with 1,547 publisher attendees and 1.2 million participants from 64 countries.