The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2022 
Submissions are invited for the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2022, any time between 19 September 2021 and 15 January 2022.
The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature consists of a silver medal, a cash prize of US$5,000, and publication worldwide in English translation by the American University in Cairo Press.
Rules
The award is open to contemporary novels, written and published in Arabic anywhere in the world, with a copyright date of 2020 or 2021, which have not yet been translated and published in English.
- Any book that has already received a literary award is not eligible.
- Novellas, short story collections, or poetry collections are not eligible.
- Self-published novels are not eligible.
- Submissions may be made by the author or the publisher.
- The author must be living at the time of submission.
By submitting a novel, the author or publisher (depending on who holds the English-language rights) are considered to have agreed that, in the event of their novel winning, it will be translated into English and published worldwide by the AUC Press.
By submitting a novel, the author is considered to have agreed to be available for promotional activities such as media appearances related to the award and/or necessary travel within the Arab world.
The AUC Press reserves the right to reject any submission that does not comply with the rules of entry.
The judging panel’s decision is final.
How to submit
Three copies of the published book must be sent or delivered to the following address, to arrive no later than 15 January 2022:
The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
ATTN: Executive Assistant
The American University in Cairo Press
AUC Tahrir Campus
113 Kasr El Aini Street
P.O. Box 2511, Cairo 11511
EGYPT
A complete PDF of the book must also be sent, along with a completed submission form and a recent photograph of the author, to: [email protected]
The three copies, the PDF, the completed submission form, and the photograph of the author must all be received by the AUC Press for a submission to be accepted. Any incomplete submission will be disregarded.
CLICK HERE FOR THE SUBMISSION FORM
About the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature
Since 1996 the AUC Press has presented the annual Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, a major award in support of contemporary Arabic literature in translation.
The award, consisting of a silver medal, a cash prize of US$5,000, and the translation and publication of the winning novel throughout the English-speaking world, is presented annually on 11 December, the birthday of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, by the president of the American University in Cairo in the presence of the Egyptian minister of culture and many other prominent leaders of Egypt’s cultural life.
The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is awarded for the best contemporary novel published in Arabic (but not yet in English) in 2020 or 2021, selected by the Mahfouz Award Committee: Shereen Abouelnaga, literary critic and professor of English and comparative literature at Cairo University; Humphrey Davies, award-winning translator of Arabic literature into English; Thaer Deeb, writer, translator, and critic; Hussein Hammouda, professor in the Arabic Department, Cairo University; and Dina Heshmat, assistant professor, Department of Arabic and Islamic Civilizations, the American University in Cairo. The award-winning book is subsequently translated and published in an English-language edition by the AUC Press in Cairo, New York, and London.
Welcoming the award, Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz said: “The announcement of this award honoring writers and literature is the most pleasurable event on my birthday. I hope that this prize will also help to discover new talents in Arabic literature and introduce them to readers around the world.”
The American University in Cairo Press is the primary English-language publisher of Naguib Mahfouz and has published or licensed some 600 foreign-language editions of the Nobel laureate’s works in 40 languages.
The 25 winners of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature since its inauguration include 10 women, 15 men; 12 Egyptians (2 posthumously), 3 Palestinians, 2 Algerians, 2 Lebanese, 1 Moroccan, 2 Syrians, 1 Iraqi, 1 Sudanese, and 1 Saudi Arabian:
2020 (awarded in March 2021): Ahmed Taibaoui, The Disappearance of Mr. Nobody
2018: Omaima Al-Khamis, Voyage of the Cranes in the Cities of Agate
2017: Huzama Habayeb, Velvet
2016: Adel Esmat, Tales of Yusuf Tadrus
2015: Hassan Daoud, No Road to Paradise
2014: Hammour Ziada, The Longing of the Dervish
2013: Khaled Khalifa, No Knives in the Kitchens of This City
2012: Ezzat El Kamhawi, House of the Wolf
2011: The Revolutionary Literary Creativity of the Egyptian People
2010: Miral al-Tahawy, Brooklyn Heights
2009: Khalil Sweileh, Writing Love
2008: Hamdi Abu Golayyel, A Dog with No Tail
2007: Amina Zaydan, Red Wine
2006: Sahar Khalifeh, The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant
2005: Yusuf Abu Rayya, Wedding Night
2004: Alia Mamdouh, The Loved Ones
2003: Khairy Shalaby, The Lodging House
2002: Bensalem Himmich, The Polymath
2001: Somaya Ramadan, Leaves of Narcissus
2000: Hoda Barakat, The Tiller of Waters
1999: Edwar al-Kharrat, Rama and the Dragon
1998: Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Memory in the Flesh
1997: Mourid Barghouti, I Saw Ramallah; and Yusuf Idris, City of Love and Ashes
1996: Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, The Other Place; and Latifa al-Zayyat, The Open Door
