The American University in Cairo Press announced the shortlist for the 2024 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature on 30 August to commemorate the Nobel laureate’s passing.
This year’s six shortlisted titles were chosen from 181 novels submitted from 18 countries across the Arab world and outside it. The winner will be announced on 11 December 2024, the anniversary of Naguib Mahfouz’s birth.
The shortlist includes:
- The Sky is Smoking Cigarettes (al-Sama’ tudakhin al-saga’ir) by Wajdi al-Ahdal (Yemen)
- The Glass Woman (al-Sayyida al-zujajiya) by Amr El-Adly (Egypt)
- The Scribe: Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (al-Warraq Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi) by Hisham Eid (Egypt)
- My Name is Zayzafun (Ismi Zayzafun) by Sausan Jamil Hasan (Syria)
- House of the Judge: The Journey of Qassim bin Yunis (Bayt al-qadi: masirat Qasim bin Yunis) by Mahmoud Adel Taha (Egypt)
- Muted Microphone (Micrufun katim sawt) by Mohammed Tarazi (Lebanon).
This year’s panel of esteemed judges is chaired by Sarah Enany, professor in the English Department of Cairo University and winner of the Banipal Prize for Literary Translation. She is joined by Ahmed Taibaoui, winner of the Best Arabic Novel Prize at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2023 and the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2021; Kay Heikkinen, formerly at the University of Chicago, and winner of the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation; Youssef Rakha, novelist, poet, and essayist; and Maysa Zaki, literary and theater critic with over thirty years of experience in the field.
The Sky is Smoking Cigarettes (al-Sama’ tudakhin al-saga’ir) by Wajdi al-Ahdal (Yemen)
In a war-torn Yemen, Dhafir’s journey through love and loss mirrors the unyielding search for meaning in a world scarred by conflict and displacement.
The Glass Woman (al-Sayyida al-zujajiya) by Amr El-Adly (Egypt)
In a world where reality intertwines with fantasy, Thuma’s struggle against a harsh and unforgiving life becomes a tale of resilience, as she battles to carve out her place amidst the chaos.
The Scribe: Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi (al-Warraq Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi) by Hisham Eid (Egypt)
A calligrapher’s divine artistry transforms ink and paper into a living, joyful symphony of letters.
My Name is Zayzafun (Ismi Zayzafun) by Sausan Jamil Hasan (Syria)
As memories turn to ashes, Zayzafun fights to reclaim her identity and rewrite her story from the ruins of her past.
House of the Judge: The Journey of Qassim bin Yunis (Bayt al-qadi: masirat Qasim bin Yunis) by Mahmoud Adel Taha (Egypt)
Through the eyes of a religious family in Ottoman-occupied Egypt, this historical novel explores the clash between tradition and reason, revealing the deep psychological and societal impacts of faith and identity.
Muted Microphone (Micrufun katim sawt) by Mohammed Tarazi (Lebanon)
Set against the backdrop of Lebanon’s recent crises, this novel portrays the struggle between hope and despair as a young man, caught between two cemeteries, faces the harsh realities of economic collapse and political silence.
Congratulations to all the authors who were shortlisted this year!
