International Prize for Arabic Fiction 

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction developed over the course of 2007 into one of the most prestigious international prizes for Arabic literature. The Institute of Strategic Dialogue, who developed the prize in collaboration with the Booker Prize Foundation and the Emirates Foundation, were instrumental in establishing the award and facilitating it as a sustainable and independent initiative.

The prize is designed to promote Arabic literary merit and to encourage wider reading and writing in the Arab world. It also aims to promote global translations and regular exchanges between Arab and Western publishers and writers. The prize was launched in Abu Dhabi in April 2007 and a programme administrator, based in Beirut, recruited to handle submissions and coordinate activities on an annual basis. Submissions from publishers are called at the end of April every year. A panel of six international judges, made up of literary experts, publishers and academics, are selected each year in July. The shortlist of six winning titles is announced at two simultaneous press conferences in London and Abu Dhabi in January. The prize is announced at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in March.

In the prize's first year, over 130 titles from 18 different countries were submitted for judicial review, a number which has continued to grow ever since. Each shortlisted author receives US $10,000, with the winner receiving a further $50,000.

Trustees of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction include:

Jonathan Taylor, (Chairperson), Sasha Havlicek (ISD Executive Director), Marie-Therese Abdul Messih, Peter Clark, Omar Saif Ghobash, Khaled al Hroub, Ibrahim Al Moallem, Farouk Mardam-Bey, Zaki Nusseibeh, Margaret Obank, Riyad El-Rayess, Professor Yasir Suleiman William Sieghart and Evelyn Smith.

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Previous Winners:

2009 – Azazeel (Beelzebub), Youssef Ziedan (Egypt)

2008 – Sunset Oasis, Baha Taher (Egypt)