Sono usciti i sei finalisti del Booker arabo
Al-Mansi Qindeel, Muhammad, A Cloudy Day on the West Side, Dar Al-Shorouk (Egyptian)
Ez Eldin, Mansoura Beyond Paradise, Dar Al-Ain (Egyptian)
Jabir, Rabee America, Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre), Lebanese
Khal, Abdo She Throws Sparks, Al-Jamal Publications (Saudi Arabian)
Madhoun, Raba’i, The Lady from Tel Aviv, Arab Institute for Publishing and Studies (Palestinian)
Naji, Jamal, When the Wolves Grow Old, Ministry of Culture Publications (Jordanian)
Chair of Judges Taleb Alrefai commented on the shortlist of finalists: “A democratic, objective discussion was held, the most important target of which was to reach a list approved by the judging panel. The selected books represent the opinion of the panel, with due respect to and appreciation of all the longlisted novels.”
The panel of five judges were also revealed today. All specialists in the field of Arabic literature, they come from Kuwait, Egypt, Tunisia, France and Oman. They are: Taleb Alrefai (Chair of Judges), Kuwaiti novelist and short story writer; Shereen Abu El Naga, Egyptian lecturer of English and comparative literature at Cairo University; Raja’ Ben Salamah, Tunisian lecturer from the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Humanities at Manouba University, Tunisia; Frédéric LaGrange, French academic, translator and Head of the Arabic and Hebraic Department at the Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV); Saif al-Rahbi, Omani writer and poet.