Rabai al-Madhoun (born 1945) is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

journalist, novelist and writer. He was born in the village of al-Majdal in British Mandatory Palestine, near

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...

in present-day Israel. His family was driven out of Palestine in the

1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight In 1948 more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs – about half of prewar Palestine's Arab population – were expelled or fled from their homes, during the 1948 Palestine war. The exodus was a central component of the fracturing, dispossession ...

. Madhoun grew up in the refugee camp of

Khan Younis Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142 ...

located in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. He went to

Alexandria University Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

for higher education, and in 1973 turned to journalism as a career. He was also involved with the Palestinian liberation struggle in the 1970s as a member of the

Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP; ar, الجبهة الديموقراطية لتحرير فلسطين, ''al-Jabha al-Dīmūqrāṭiyya li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn'') is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organi ...

, but quit politics in 1980 to focus on writing full-time. As a journalist, he worked in Beirut (Lebanon),Nicosia (Cyprus) and later on in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where he is now based. Currently a British citizen, Madhoun is an editor at the ''

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat ''Asharq Al-Awsat'' ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, Aš-Šarq al-ʾAwsaṭ, meaning "The Middle East") is an Arabic international newspaper headquartered in London. A pioneer of the "off-shore" model in the Arabic press, the paper is often noted f ...

'' newspaper. His books include both fiction and non-fiction.Profile on EAFL website
/ref> His debut novel, ''The Lady from Tel Aviv'', was shortlisted for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (dubbed the "Arabic Booker Prize"). The novel has been translated into English by

Elliott Colla Elliott Colla is an American scholar of the Middle East, specializing in Arabic literature and culture. He is currently an associate professor in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. Career Colla received a B.A. ...

. His third novel, ''Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Nakba'' was awarded the annual IPAF in April 2016.

Books

* ''The Idiot of Khan Younis'' (short stories; 1977) * ''The Palestinian Intifada'' (Nicosia-1988) (Haifa-Israel-1989) * ''The Taste of Separation'' (autobiographical novel; 2 editions 2001, 2011) * ''The Lady from Tel Aviv'' (novel; 2009, 8 editions) *
Website page with reviews
*
''The Lady from Tel Aviv''
* ''Destinies: The Concerto of The Holocaust and The Naqba'' (novel; 8 editions 2015) - 2016 winner, International Prize for Arab Fiction

References

1945 births Palestinian novelists Palestinian refugees Palestinian short story writers Palestinian journalists Living people International Prize for Arabic Fiction winners {{Palestine-writer-stub