Samar Yazbek ( ar, سمر يزبك, born 1970 in

Jableh ) , settlement_type = City , motto = , image_skyline = Jableh Collage.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = General view of city and port • Roman Amphitheater• Al ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) is a Syrian writer and journalist. She studied

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

Tishreen University Tishreen University ( ar, جامعة تشرين, lit=October University), is a public university located in Latakia, Syria. It is the third-largest university in Syria. History The university was founded under the name of the ''University o ...

(

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

). She has written in a wide variety of genres including novels, short stories, film scripts, television dramas, film and TV criticism, and literary narratives. Several of her works have been translated from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

original into other languages.

Biography

In 2010, Yazbek was selected as one of the 39 most promising authors under the age of 40, by

Beirut39 Beirut39 is a collaborative project between the Hay Festival, Beirut UNESCO's World Book Capital 2009 celebrations, ''Banipal'' magazine and the British Council among others in order to identify 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age o ...

, a contest organized by the Hay Festival. In 2011, she took part in the popular

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

against the Assad regime, and was forced into exile a few months later. In 2012, she was chosen for the prestigious PEN/Pinter Prize International writer of courage award, in recognition of her book ''A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution''. She was also awarded the Swedish Tucholsky Prize and the Dutch Oxfam/PEN prize in the same year. In 2016 Yazbek's literary narrative ''The Crossing'' was awarded the French “Best Foreign Book” prize. Yazbek also participated in the

Syrian cultural caravan The Syrian Cultural Caravan is an artistic and cultural movement led by Syrian artists. Started in 2014 as a project called "Freedom for the Syrian People", it took the form of a road trip, taking off from France and continuing across Europe. In ...

, which was an artistic and cultural movement led by Syrian artists that started with a project called "Freedom for the Syrian People" and involved a road trip across Europe.

Works

Yazbek has been a prominent voice in support of human rights and more specifically women's rights in Syria. In 2012, she launched Women Now for Development, an NGO based in France that aims at empowering Syrian women economically and socially.

Awards & Distinctions

* 2016 Best Foreign Book award for ''The crossing'' (France) * 2013 PEN-OXFAM Novib award for ''A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution'' (The Netherlands) * 2012 PEN Tucholsky award for ''A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution'' (Sweden) * 2012 PEN Pinter award for ''A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution'' (UK) * 2010 Selected in the Beirut 39, Hay festival selection of outstanding writers under 40 (Beirut) * 2000 UNICEF, Best literary scenario award to “''A falling sky''” (TV script)

Other publications

* “Silence”, PEN Atlas, February 2014 * “I write with blind eyes and forty fingers”, Index on censorship (UK), December 2014 * “On two and a half years of massacre in Syria”, SvD (Sweden) & FAZ (Germany), September 2013 * “Syria’s inferno”, Le Nouvel Observateur, bibliobs (France), September 2013 * “The novelist vs. the revolutionary: My own Syrian debate”, Washington Post (USA), September 2013 * “In the shadow of Assad’s bombs”, The New York Times, OpEd (USA), August 2012 * “Two men”, The Guardian (UK), August 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yazbek, Samar Syrian novelists Syrian women short story writers Syrian short story writers Syrian journalists Syrian women journalists 1970 births Living people Syrian feminists Oxfam Novib/PEN Award winners Syrian dissidents Syrian Alawites 21st-century Syrian women writers 21st-century Syrian writers