Nadwa 2023

In March, a group of seven emerging Arab authors gathered in Sharjah to take part in the International Prize for Arabic Fiction’s annual Nadwa. The workshop, which ran from 5^th to 12^th March, brought together writers from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Sudan and the UAE. The workshop was sponsored by the Sharjah Book Authority.

This year’s Nadwa was led by two mentors: Jalal Barjas, Jordanian poet, novelist and 2021 winner of IPAF for his novel Notebooks of the Bookseller; and Omani short story writer and novelist Bushra Khalfan, IPAF-shortlisted in 2022 for Dilshad.

The seven participating writers ranged in age from 30 to 42 years old and were identified by IPAF as emerging talents. The workshop, which aims to hone their writing skills, involved daily group discussions as well as the opportunity for one-on-one guidance with mentors.