Egypt Vies for Literature Prize

This week, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction announced its longlist of 16 novels in contention for the 2014 prize. Among the 16 selected are Egyptian authors Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid for his work Clouds over Alexandria, Ahmed Mourad's The Blue Elephant, and Ashraf al-Khamaisi's God's Land of Exile.

The 16 novels were selected from a list of 156 entries from 18 countries that were all published within the last 12 months. The books were selected by a panel of five judges, whose names will be released in Amman, Jordan on the February 10^th, the same day as the shortlist will be released.

The 6 novels that will be short-listed will each win $10,000 dollars, while the overall winner will be an awarded an additional $50,000. This will be the seventh year for the prize to be awarded and the winner will be announced at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on 29^th of April, coinciding with the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

CairoScene wishes to congratulate these Egyptians for their efforts and wish them the best of luck. For a look at the full long-list of nominees click here.