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Lebanese novelist Mohammed Tarazi, Naguib-Mahfouz Prize

Awarded in Cairo, within the American University in Cairo, the Naguib-Mahfouz Prize constitutes a true Egyptian institution, followed and scrutinized by the Arab literary world. Six works were finalists for this 2024 vintage, selected by a jury chaired by translator Sarah Enany and which brought together Kay Heikkinen, Ahmed Taibaoui, Youssef Rakha and Maysa Zaki.

« Although the book is about Lebanon today, it goes beyond the confines of its own spatial and temporal framework in order to reveal a more universal human reality for those of us who, in our contemporary society, live in cities that suffocate souls and kill dreams », Underlined Sarah Enany in her speech, delivered on December 11.

Mohammed Tarazi accepted his reward noting that it gave him “ a voice ». « This voice took the form of a medal bearing the name of the great writer Naguib Mahfouz, placing me among remarkable creators, recognized for their literary excellence and their unwavering stance against hatred and tyranny.»

The novelMīkrūfūn for the stem Ṣawttraces the uninterrupted crisis experienced by Lebanon for several years, between the management of the pandemic, the shortage of essential goods, and the setbacks which followed the explosion at the port of Beirut.

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As a winner, Tarazi receives a $5,000 endowment, as well as an English-language translation of his story, which will be published by Hoopoe, a subsidiary of the academic publishing house of the American University in Cairo.

181 book applications were received this year, from 18 countries in the Arab world.

Photography: Mohammed Tarazi (AUC Press)

By Antoine Oury
Contact : [email protected]

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