The prize for Arabic Literature was created in 2013 by the Foundation Jean-Luc Lagardère and the Arab World Institute in Paris. The 10,000 euros prize rewards one author (national of a state member of the Arab ligue) of a literary work written or translated into French. The prize will be awarded on October 18th in Paris, by former minister of culture Jack Lang during a ceremony that takes place at the Arab World Institute.

The jury has selected the Iraqi author Sinan Antoon for his novel “The pomegranate alone”, translated by Leyla Mansour and published by Sindbad, Actes Sud. President of the jury, and manager of Lagardere SCA has declared that the novel was “astounding”, written in a “captivating and poetic style”, “accurate and delicate”.

A special mention was also given to Syrian author Khaled Khalifa for his novel “No knives in the kitchens of the city”, also published by Sindbad, Actes Sud.

SOLD RIGHTS

The following rights to Antoon’s “The pomegranate alone” have been sold:

French, Sindbad, Actes Sud (2017)

English, Yale University Press (2014)

Turkish, Aylak Adam (to appear)

Malayalam, Green Books (to appear)

The following rights to Khalifa’s “There are no knives in the kitchens of the city” have been sold:

French (Sindbad, Actes Sud, France, 2016)

Dutch (De Geus, Netherlands, 2016)

English (Hoopoe, AUC, US, 2016)

Italian (Bompiani, to appear)

German (Rowohlt, to appear)

Macedonian (Prozart, to appear).