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Seven women have made the 16-strong longlist for the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2011, the highest number in the prize's four-year history. The prize awards $10,000 to six shortlisted finalists and $50,000 to its winner. Entries from 17 countries in the Arab world were received, with Afghanistan included for the first time.
Joumana Haddad prize administrator commented on the longlist: "The prize in its fourth year has become a critical conscience and a literary reference in all that relates to the modern Arabic novel, in both the Arab and Western worlds. The 2011 longlist is proof of that."
Jonathan Taylor, chair of the board of trustees, said: "The longlist is as varied, talented and powerful as ever and includes writers from seven Arabic countries, a high proportion being women."
The full longlist is: The Arch and the Butterfly by Mohammed Achaari (Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre)); The Doves' Necklace by Raja Alem (Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre)); Turmoil in Jeddah by Maqbul Moussa Al-Alawi (Al-Kawkab); An Oriental Dance by Khalid Al-Bari (El-Ain Publishing); God's Soldiers by Fawaz Haddad (Riad El-Rayyes Books); Secret Rope by Maha Hassan (Al-Kawkab); A Short Life by Renée Hayek (Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi (Arab Cultural Centre)); My Tormentor by Bensalem Himmich (Dar El Shorouk); The Andalucian House by Waciny Laredj (Jamal Publications); Women of Wind by Razan Naim Al-Maghrabi (Thaqafa l-al-Nashr (Cultural Publications)); The Handsome Jew by Ali Al-Muqri (Dar al-Saqi); Common Sins by Fatin Al-Murr (Dar An-Nahar); Istasia by Khairy Shalaby (Dar El Shorouk); The Hunter of the Chrysalises (or The Head Hunter) by Amir Taj Al-Sir (Thaqafa l-al-Nashr (Cultural Publications)); Brooklyn Heights by Miral Al-Tahawy (Dar Merit) and The Eye of the Sun by Ibtisam Ibrahim Teresa (Arab Scientific Publishers).
The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on 14th March 2011, just before the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The prize is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation and the Emirates Foundation for Philanthrophy.