Abu Dhabi: The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) yesterday (Tuesday) revealed the longlist of 16 novels in contention for the 2016 prize. Those selected were chosen from 159 entries from 18 countries, all published within the last 12 months. The highest number of 2016 longlisted authors came from Egypt and Palestine.
Two of this year’s longlisted authors have been shortlisted for the prize previously: Rabai Al Madhoun and Mohammad Mansi Qandil both appeared on the IPAF shortlist in 2010, with Al Madhoun’s book, The Lady from Tel Aviv, now available in English from Telegram Books. Taleb Al Refai was also Chair of Judges for IPAF that year.
The list includes a number of younger writers and debut novelists. Three longlisted writers are under the age of 40, and first novels by Tareq Bakari and Abdennour Mezzine have been included. In addition, two of the longlisted authors, Mohammad Rabie and Shahla Ujayli, have previously participated in IPAF’s annual ‘nadwa’, or writers’ workshop, for emerging writers with promise. Ujayli worked on a section of her longlisted book, A Sky Close to Our House, during the 2014 Nadwa.
