Nadia Al-Kokabany is a

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

i novelist, short story writer and academic. She was born in

Taiz Taiz ( ar, تَعِزّ, Taʿizz) is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni Highlands, near the port city of Mocha, Yemen, Mocha on the Red Sea, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is the capital of Taiz Governorate. W ...

and studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Sanaa University Sana'a University ( ) was established in 1970 as the first and the primary university in the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), now the Republic of Yemen (see also Aden University). It is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and is currently o ...

. She completed a PhD in architecture at

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

in 2008, before returning to take up an academic position at Sanaa University. Her first published literary work was a short story in the journal ''

al-Thawra Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, meaning "The Revolution") is an experimental metal punk band with rhythms and modes that draw heavily on Middle Eastern influences. Band member Marwan Kemal describes a "third identity" between the "false dichotomy ...

''. Since then, she has published a number of short story collections, starting with ''Zaferat Al-Yasmeen'' (Jasmine Sigh) in 2001. Her first novel was titled ''Hubb laysa illà'' (Not More than Love) and was published in 2006. It was followed in 2009 by ''Aqeelat'', a story about the lives of 19 Yemeni women. Also in 2009, she formed a literary group called ''Meeting Yesterday'' with fellow Yemeni authors Ali al-Moqri, Samir Abdul-Fatah and

Wajdi al-Ahdal Wajdi al-Ahdal (Arabic::ar: وجدي الأهلي , وجدي الأهلي) (born 1973) is a Yemeni novelist, short story writer and playwright. Laureate of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2008, is known for his Contemporary ...

. Al-Kokabany has received a number of literary awards both in Yemen and abroad. Among these are the Suad al-Sabah Prize in 2000 (second prize), the Yemeni President's Award for Young Writers (2001) and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture Grant (2010). In 2009, she was invited to participate in the first writers' workshop (''nadwa'') organised by IPAF, and her work was included in the resulting

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

entitled ''Emerging Arab Voices''. Her work has appeared in translation in two issues of

Banipal ''Banipal'' is an independent literary magazine dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. It was founded in London in 1998 by Margaret Obank and Samuel Shimon. The magazine is published three tim ...

magazine, in 2005 and in 2009. She has also been translated into French and German. Al-Kokabany is married with three children.

References

External links

Author's website in Arabic (with English biography)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokabany, Nadia Living people Yemeni women novelists 21st-century Yemeni novelists People from Taiz Sanaa University alumni Cairo University alumni Academic staff of Sanaa University 21st-century Yemeni women writers 21st-century Yemeni writers Year of birth missing (living people)