Will Tarek Emam become the youngest Egyptian writer to receive the International Prize for Arabic Fiction?

CAIRO – 22 May 2022: If Tarek Emam wins the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, he will become the youngest Egyptian writer to win the award, and he will become the first Egyptian writer to win the award in 13 years.

Egypt has won the prize twice in a row, as Bahaa Taher's "Sunset Oasis" won the award in the first edition that took place in 2008. In the second edition, the prize was awarded to the novel "Azazil" by the Egyptian Youssef Ziedan.

It is worth mentioning that most of the writers who made it to the award's shortlists are Egyptians, with 16 novels.

Tarek Emam himself did not make it to any of the short and long lists of the Booker Prize, but he made headlines by reaching the shortlist for the award for his novel “Cairo Maquette”. Qualifying for the Booker’s shortlist won him critical attention.

Emam won many awards before, such as the Sawiris Award, the Word Museum Award, and the Suad Al-Sabah Award for Arab Creativity for the best short story collection.

Tarek Emam was born on August 12, 1977, and holds a Bachelor of Arts, Department of English Language, Alexandria University.