The tenth session of the Arab Literature Prize kicks off

The Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) and the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation announced on Wednesday the launch of the call for applications for the tenth cycle of the Arab Literature Prize, one of the rare French prizes that distinguish Arab creativity.

Established in 2013 and awarded at €10,000, the Arab Literature Prize promotes a work (a novel or collection of short stories) by a writer from the League of Arab States, the author of a work written in Arabic translated into French (or written directly in French) and self-published between September 1, 2021 and August 31 2022.

The selection of the six to eight finalist works will be announced at the beginning of September. The selected works will be presented to the members of the jury – made up of eminent personalities from the world of media, arts and culture, as well as specialists from the Arab world – who will then meet to determine the winner, and to identify the organizers in a press release.

Since its inception by the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation and the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Arab Literature Prize was awarded in 2013 to Jabbour Douaihy (Lebanon), in 2015 to Muhammad Hassan Alwan (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), in 2016 to Inam Kajhiji (Iraq) in In 2019 to Muhammad Abd al-Nabi (Egypt), in 2020 to Abd al-Aziz Baraka Saken (Sudan) and in 2021 to Jokha al-Harthi (Oman) for his novel Heavenly Bodies. Submissions are open until June 30, 2022. For works scheduled for publication after June 30, 2022, publishers may, initially, submit proofs only to the Foundation.

It must be remembered that the Arab World Institute was designed to establish strong and lasting links between cultures in order to develop a genuine dialogue between the Arab world, France and Europe. This multidisciplinary space is a prime place for developing cultural projects, often designed in collaboration with institutions, innovators and thinkers from the Arab world.

The Arab World Institute is firmly rooted in the present. It aims to reflect all the energies of the Arab world. Hence it intends to define its unique place in the landscape of cultural institutions. No other institution in the world offers such a wide range of events related to the Arab world.

Debates, seminars, symposia, conferences, dance performances, concerts, films, books, meetings, language courses, civilization courses and major exhibitions allow the IMA public every day to encounter this unique and explosive world.