2020 Shortlisted authors: What it means to be shortlisted

Ahead of the 2020 winner announcement for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction on Tuesday 14 April 2020, we spoke to some of this year’s shortlist to find out what it means to be shortlisted for the Prize.

They said:

Said Khatibi
Firewood of Sarajevo

Favourite Quote

“People no longer trust each other. Hatred has spread like cholera, which afflicted our grandparents in times long gone. A man would leave his house in the morning, with no guarantee that he’d return to it”.

What does it mean to you that your novel is on the shortlist?

I was so happy that my novel reached the shortlist of this esteemed prize, which serves Arabic literature. Reaching the shortlist has given me new readers, and in recent weeks I have noticed a bigger interest in my novel. The number of articles and comments has doubled, and more editions have been printed. This nomination also opens up new possibilities for translations. It is a hugely important event in my life as a novelist, which also makes me feel a greater responsibility towards writing. I want to give the best in my future works.

Khalil Alrez
The Russian Quarter

Favourite Quote

This sentence maybe: “When we live on the edge of destruction, it becomes easy and necessary for us to make changes, to replace and maybe completely erase, all the deeply-rooted beliefs which flourished in those idle days of deceptive, dangerous peace, of habit and pretence”. [literally: a mined peace, i.e. a peace which was mined like landmines]

What does it mean to you that your novel is on the shortlist?

I think that the novels of the shortlist are of high artistic quality, so the competition between them will be tough. The fact that these novels have reached this stage in the Prize will definitely encourage people to read them, which was the aim of the Prize when it was established. Shortlisting will also help in getting them translated into other languages, without having to rely on personal relationships with organizations or people, and this is also very important.

Abdelouahab Aissaoui
The Spartan Court

Favourite Quote

Great truths are always accused, in the beginning, of being illusions.

What does it mean to you that your novel is on the shortlist?

It is a beautiful experience which has made me happy. I have seen the cultural activity caused by the shortlist. Readers are keener to read the book, and critics and reviewers have given it their attention and written analysis and articles about it. All of this serves the novel and helps it to be more widely distributed in Arab countries.

Alia Mamdouh
The Tank

Favourite Quote

Many of us do not see well. No indeed, they are blind while their eyes remain wide open. Perhaps this is one reason why I left Paris. I must cleanse all my senses. Had I stayed here, I would have gone blind and vanished.

What does it mean to you that your novel is on the shortlist?

I was at home working on my new book, Imperfection. A dear friend called to congratulate me on The Tank getting shortlisted. My first reaction was a state of calm joy. I learned things a very long time ago from living alone and not disrupting my solitude. So if pain or joy ever come, I do not allow them to overflow. I smiled, then laughed in a low voice, and felt that all my facial features were happy. Reaching the shortlist is associated with a certain quality, which goes for all the novels on the list. And this brings me joy.