Mohamed Mustagab (1938–2006) was an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

novelist and short story writer.

Early life

He was born in the town of

Dayrut Dairut ( ) is a city in Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile, in the Asyut Governorate. This is the point where the Nile divides, and a branch wanders off and eventually ends up in the Faiyum. Climate Köppen-Geiger climate c ...

in Upper Egypt. He had little formal education and was involved in the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s. He eventually turned to journalism and writing, and rose to the position of director at the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo.

Career

As a writer, he published his first short story in the pages of ''al-Hilal'' magazine in 1968. He published several volumes of fiction, including novels and short stories. His most noted work is ''The Secret History of Numan Abd al-Hafiz'' (1984). This short novel won the Egyptian State Incentive Award and was selected as one of the top 100 Arabic novels by the

Arab Writers Union The Arab Writers Union (ar.: اتحاد الكتاب العرب) is an association of Arab writers, founded in 1969, in Damascus, Syria, at the initiative of a group of Arab writers including Syrian novelist Hanna Mina. In 2008, the union was mov ...

. It has been translated into English by Humphrey T. Davies, and was included in ''Tales of Dayrut'' ( AUC Press, 2008), the only book-length work by Mustagab available in English translation. It was also turned into a play and staged in Cairo in 2001.

References

1938 births 2006 deaths Egyptian novelists Egyptian male short story writers Egyptian short story writers Egyptian journalists 20th-century novelists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century male writers People from Asyut Governorate 20th-century journalists {{Egypt-writer-stub