2010 Arabic Booker Shortlist

Ed Nawotka’s piece in Publishing Perspectives is the first mention I’ve seen of this, but on Tuesday, the six finalists for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (aka, the “Arabic Booker”) were announced. Each finalist received $10,000 and the winner gets an additional $50,000.

Here is the shortlist with the author’s country in parenthesis:

A Cloudy Day on the West Side by Muhammad Al-Mansi Qindeel (Egypt)

Beyond Paradise by Mansoura Ez Eldin (Egypt)

America by Rabee Jabir (Lebanon)

She Throws Sparks by Abdo Khal (Saudi Arabia)

The Lady from Tel Aviv by Raba’i Madhoun (Palestine)

When the Wolves Grow Old by Jamal Naji (Jordan)

Hopefully someone will put up sample translations from all of these in the not-too-distant future. If/when somebody does, I’ll be sure to link . . .

The winner will be announced in early March, at the same time as the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.