The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. M ...

for

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 ...

.Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
, official website. It is given to the best contemporary novel written in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...

, but not available in English translation. The winning book is then translated into English, and published by American University in Cairo Press. It was first awarded in 1996 and is presented annually on December 11, the birthday of Nobel laureate

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. M ...

, by the President of the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning progra ...

. 2011 was a unique year for the award because of the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

. The campuses of the American University in Cairo were operationally impacted and instead of presenting no award, AUCP gave the award to "the revolutionary creativity of the Egyptian people during the popular uprising that began on 25 January 2011."

Winners

Previous winners. * 1996:

Ibrahim Abdel Meguid Ibrahim Abdel Meguid (born 2 December 1946) is an Egyptian novelist and author. His best-known works form the "Alexandria Trilogy": ''No One Sleeps in Alexandria'', ''Birds of Amber'', and ''Clouds Over Alexandria''. These have been translated into ...

, ''The Other Place''; and

Latifa al-Zayyat Latifa al-Zayyat ( ar, لطيفة الزيات) (8 August 1923 – 10 September 1996) was an Egyptian activist and writer, most famous for her novel ''The Open Door'', which won the inaugural Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. Biography Al Za ...

, ''The Open Door'' * 1997:

Mourid Barghouti Mourid Barghouti ( ar, مريد البرغوثي, ; 8 July 1944 – 14 February 2021) was a Palestinian poet and writer. Biography Barghouti was born in Deir Ghassana, near Ramallah, on the West Bank, in 8 July 1944. He studied English litera ...

, ''I Saw Ramallah''; and

Yusuf Idris Yusuf Idris, also Yusif Idris ( ar, يوسف إدريس) (May 19, 1927 – August 1, 1991) was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels. Biography Idris was born in Faqous. He originally trained to be a doctor, studying at the ...

, ''City of Love and Ashes'' * 1998:

Ahlam Mosteghanemi Ahlem Mosteghanemi ( ar, أحلام مستغانمي), alternatively written Ahlam Mosteghanemi (born 1953) is an Algerian writer who has been called "''probably the world's best-known Arabophone woman novelist''". She was the first Algerian wo ...

, ''Memory in the Flesh'' * 1999:

Edwar al-Kharrat Edwar al-Kharrat ( ar, إدوار الخراط‎; 16 March 1926 – 1 December 2015) was an Egyptian novelist, writer and critic. Early life He was born in Alexandria to a Coptic Christian family. He studied law at Alexandria University and w ...

, ''Rama and the Dragon'' * 2000:

Hoda Barakat Hoda Barakat ( ar, هدى بركات) (born 1952) is an award-winning Lebanese novelist. She lived most of her early life in Beirut before moving to Paris, where she now resides. She has published six novels, two plays, a book of short stories, a ...

, ''The Tiller of Waters'' * 2001:

Somaya Ramadan Somaya Yehia Ramadan is an Egyptian academic, translator and writer. She was born in Cairo in 1951 and studied English at Cairo University. Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in English from Trinity College, Dublin in 1983. She is a convert from I ...

, ''Leaves of Narcissus'' * 2002:

Bensalem Himmich Bensalem Himmich () (born in 1948 in Meknes) is a Moroccan novelist, poet and philosopher with a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Paris, who teaches at the Mohammed V University, Rabat. He served as Minister of Culture from 29 July 2009 ...

, ''The Polymath'' * 2003:

Khairy Shalaby Khairy Shalaby (خيري شلبي) (January 31, 1938 – 9 September 2011)Alia Mamdouh Alia Mamdouh (also spelled Aliyah Mamduh) (born 1944) is an Iraqi novelist, author, and journalist living in exile in Paris, France. She won the 2004 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her novel ''The Loved Ones''. She is most known for h ...

, ''The Loved Ones'' * 2005:

Yusuf Abu Rayya Yusuf Abu Rayya (1955 – 12 January 2009) was an Egyptian author. Early life He was born in 1955 in Hihya in the Sharqiya Governorate, and studied journalism at Cairo University. His first published book was a collection of short stories in 1985 ...

, ''Wedding Night'' * 2006:

Sahar Khalifeh Sahar Khalifeh ( ar, سحر خليفة) (born 1941) is a Palestinian writer. She has written eleven novels, which have been translated into English, French, Hebrew, German, Spanish, and many other languages. One of her best-known works is the nov ...

, ''The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant'' * 2007:

Amina Zaydan Amina Zaydan (born 1966) is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer. She was born in 1966 in Suez and now lives in Cairo where she works as a civil servant. Zaydan is known for her strong stand on gender inequality in her writings. In 1994, h ...

, ''Red Wine'' * 2008:

Hamdi Abu Golayyel Hamdi Abu Golayyel (Arabic: حمدي أبوجليل) is an Egyptian writer. Early life He was born in 1967/68 in a Bedouin village in the Fayoum region. His ancestors arrived from Libya in the early 19th century to settle in Fayoum. Abu Golayyel ...

, ''A Dog with No Tail'' * 2009:

Khalil Sweileh Khalil Sweileh ( ar, خليل صويلح; born 1959) is a Syrian journalist and novelist. He was born in Al-Hasakah and studied literature at Damascus University. He has since worked for a number of cultural publications in various capacities. Swe ...

, ''The Scribe of Love * 2010:

Miral al-Tahawy Miral al-Tahawy (Arabic: ميرال الطحاوي), also known as Miral Mahgoub, is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer. She comes from a conservative Bedouin background and is regarded as a pioneering literary figure. The '' Washington Pos ...

, ''Brooklyn Heights'' * 2011: Awarded to "the revolutionary creativity of the Egyptian people""This year’s Naguib Mahfouz Medal award goes to … you"
M. Lynx Qualey, ''Almasry Alyoum'', 12/12/2011 * 2012: Ezzat el Kamhawi, '' House of the Wolf'' * 2013:

Khaled Khalifa Khaled Khalifa (born 1964) ( ar, خالد خليفة, sometimes in English written as Khalid Khalifa) is a Syrian novelist, screenwriter, and poet. He has been nominated three times for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, including being s ...

, ''No Knives in this City's Kitchens'' * 2014: Hammour Ziada, ''Shawq al-darwish'' (The Longing of the Dervish) * 2015: Hassan Daoud, ''La Tareeq Ila Al-Jannah'' ('No Road to Paradise') * 2016: Adel Esmat, ''Hikayat Yusuf Tadrus'' ('The Tales of Yusuf Tadrus', 'حكايات يوسف تادرس') * 2017:

Huzama Habayeb Huzama Habayeb ( ar, ْحُزَامَة حَبَايِب ) is a Palestinian novelist, storyteller, columnist, translator, and poet who has won multiple awards such as Mahmoud Seif Eddin ِAl-Erani Award for Short Stories, Jerusalem Festival of ...

, (''

Velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

'', 'مُخْمَل') * 2018: Omaima Al-Khamis, ('Voyage of the Cranes in the Cities of Agate', 'مسرى الغرانيق في مدن العقيق') * 2021: Ahmed Taibaoui, The Disappearance of Mr. Nobody

References

{{Reflist

External links

Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
official website. Translation awards Arabic literary awards Awards established in 1996 Egyptian literary awards