The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature stands as one of the most prestigious honors in Arabic literature, celebrating works that push boundaries, tell stories from the Middle East, and bring diverse Arabic voices to readers worldwide.
Every two years, on the anniversary of Naguib Mahfouz’s birth, the medal is awarded in a ceremony that gathers literary minds and honors the enduring impact of Mahfouz’s legacy.
The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is a commitment to promoting contemporary Arabic works in translation. Each winning title is carefully chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, who spotlight powerful voices in Arabic literature.
For the winning authors, the medal is just the beginning as AUC Press translates and publishes their novels through its Hoopoe imprint, sharing their narratives with an international community of readers.
This year, on 11 December 2024, AUC Press will once again host the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Award Ceremony and announce the winner of this year’s medal. click here to learn more.
As we approach this year’s award ceremony, we’re taking a moment to reflect on recent Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature winners and explore their novels. Additionally, we had the opportunity to hear from award-winning author Ahmed Taibaoui, one of the most recent award recipients, who returns this year as a member of the judging panel.
Among the recent winning novels is The Disappearance of Mr. Nobody (Ikhtifa’ al-Sayyid La Ahad) by Algerian author Ahmed Taibaoui, who won the medal in 2021 and during the 24th award ceremony. This compelling novel, translated into English by Jonathan Wright and published by Hoopoe in 2023, is a raw and lyrical portrait of life on the margins in contemporary Algiers that takes us into the lives and struggles of marginalized individuals often rendered invisible by society. Through Taibaoui’s storytelling, themes of identity, resilience, and survival come vividly alive.
"Taibaoui writes with raw urgency. . . . Part mystery, part confession, part parable, Taibaoui's scathing commentary on nameless, lost souls will undoubtedly find universal resonance."—Shelf Awareness
This year, Ahmed Taibaoui returns to the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature as a member of its esteemed panel of judges, contributing his voice and experience to selecting the next award-winning story. Here, in advance of this year’s award ceremony, Taibaoui shares his insights into Arabic literature today. When asked to comment on the 2024 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature and share a message for both the winner and today’s emerging writers, Taibaoui remarked:
"There is no one-size-fits-all formula for good writing, but generally, I advise writers to read widely, drawing inspiration from the works of esteemed novelists, and to spend time deeply observing life, people, and the world around us. The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is important and undoubtedly significant, but the prize is just a waypoint; the true achievement is reaching a broad range of readers and, even if only slightly, influencing their tastes and ideas."
In 2022, Egyptian author Fatma Qandil was awarded the medal for her novel Empty Cage (Aqfas Farigha), an introspective work that offers an urgent and raw confessional on memory and family and all that is lost and gained over a woman’s lifetime.
"Fatma Qandil's language is sly. Whenever we catch hold of a thread, we discover it only exists in our imagination. Her genre-mixing, redrawing boundaries or erasing them entirely, is itself an act of freedom"—Shereen Abouelnaga, Cairo University.
Translated by Adam Talib, Empty Cages will be released by Hoopoe in the spring of 2025.
As we approach this year’s award ceremony, we invite you to join us in celebrating a new winner and a new novel.
Fill out this form if you want to learn more about the 2024 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature ceremony, to be held on 11 December 2024. click here.
