DUBAI: The longlist for the 2025 International Prize for Arabic Fiction has been revealed, with 16 novels in the running for the $50,000 award, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre.

While works from Bahrain and Mauritania have made the list for the first time, other nominated novels come from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Iraq and the UAE.

The longlist has been chosen from a total of 124 submissions by a panel of five judges chaired by Egyptian academic Mona Baker. Joining her on the panel are Moroccan academic and critic Said Bengrad, Emirati critic and academic Maryam Al-Hashimi, Lebanese researcher and academic Bilal Orfali, and Finnish translator Sampsa Peltonen.

In a statement, Baker said, “This year’s longlist is remarkable in its diversity of both theme and literary form. Some novels address women’s struggles to achieve their dreams in a patriarchal society that prevents them from living fulfilled lives. Others offer a nuanced portrait of religious and sectarian worlds, where extremism and dogma contrast with human empathy and understanding.

“There are a number of historical novels on the list which deal with both the recent and more distant past, such as the Abbasid era, or the Inquisition and persecution of Muslims in Andalusia. There are also semi-autobiographical books, and others which read like detective stories.

“Repressive regimes and their power to crush the hopes and lives of ordinary people are also explored; some novelists paint a stark picture of this reality, while others employ sarcasm and humour, rendering these difficult topics more accessible for the reader.”

The 2025 International Prize for Arabic Fiction longlist:
Aqeel Almusawi’s “The Weepers” (Bahrain)
Inam Bioud’s “Houwariya” (Algeria)
Rashid Al-Daif’s “What Zeina Saw and What She Didn’t” (Lebanon)
Ahmed Fal Al-Din’s “Danshmand” (Mauritania)
Jan Dost’s “The French Prisoner” (Syria)
Sausan Jamil Hasan’s “Heiress of the Keys” (Syria)
Iman Humaydan’s “Songs for the Darkness” (Lebanon)
Azher Jirjees “The Valley of the Butterflies” (Iraq)
Hasan Kamal’s “The Stolen Novel” (Egypt)
Taissier Khalaf’s “The Andalusian Messiah” (Syria)
Ahmed Al-Malawany’s “Happy Dreams” (Egypt)
Mohamed Samir Nada’s “The Prayer of Anxiety” (Egypt)
Nadia Najar’s “The Touch of Light” (United Arab Emirates)
Haneen Al-Sayegh’s “The Women’s Charter” (Lebanon)
Sumar Shihada’s “My Life Has Just Begun” (Syria)
Ayman Ragab Taher’s “The Lamplighter” (Egypt)

Author: Zeyn Joukhadar

Published in 2018, “The Map of Salt and Stars” is a novel by Syrian American writer Zeyn Joukhadar. The story follows the journeys of two young girls across time and geography.

In the book, the author introduces Nour, a 12-year-old girl who is forced to flee her home in Aleppo with her family. Menwhile, Rawiya is a girl from the 12th century who disguises herself as a boy to become a trainee to the famous mapmaker Ibn Jubayr.

The two narratives create a rich story that explores displacement, identity and the resilience of the human spirit all together in one book. The author also paints pictures of historical as well as contemporary landscapes, inviting readers on a journey through the beauty and complexity of Syrian culture.

Nour’s journey through the war-torn country of Syria captures her trauma of losing her home and her father. Her character, however, grows through her encounters with diverse people, where each character she meets adds depth to her understanding of displacement, while at the same time reflecting the broader human experience.

Rawiya’s historical journey, on the other hand, complements Nour’s story, offering a look into the past in a way that resonates with the present. Through Rawiya’s perspective, readers could be able to gain an appreciation for the rich history of the Arab world, as well as the gender dynamics that persist across centuries in the area.

Joukhadar skillfully combines these two different insights in one book, creating a powerful commentary on how important storytelling is, not only as a form of survival, but also a way of connecting people and time.

Overall, the book is a compelling read, presenting various concepts such as loss, hope, identity and the unbreakable bonds of family to design a story that stays long in the reader’s mind.

Other books have been published by Joukhdar, including “The Thirty Names of Night” and “Mizna.”