Books In the News

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction Announces The Mighty Six Titles On Its Short List

Top Row, L-R: Atef abu Saif, Ahmed al-Madeeni, Lina Huyan Elhassan Bottom Row, L-R: Jana Fawaz Elhassan, Hammour Ziada, Shukri al-Mabkhout

Here it is: the shortlist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction which was announced Friday. The winner will be revealed May 6, in Abu Dhabi, during Abu Dhabi Book Fair which takes place May 3-7.

• 'A Suspended Life' "حياة معلّقة", Atef Abu Saif, Palestine, Al-Ahlia
  
• 'Floor 99' "الطابق ٩٩", Jana Elhassan, Lebanon, Difaf Publications
  
• 'Diamonds and Women' "ألماس ونساء", Lina Huyan Elhassan, Syria, Dar al-Adab
  
• 'The Italian', "الطلياني" Shukri al-Mabkhout, Tunisia, Dar Tanweer, Tunis
  
• 'Willow Alley' "ممر الصفصاف", Ahmed al-Madeeni, Morocco, Al-Markez al-Thaqafi al-Arabi
  
• 'The Longing of the Dervish' "شوق الدرويش"A, Hammour Ziada, Sudan, Dar al-Ain 
  

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Stolen Books From 'Biggest Book Theft In Modern Memory' to Finally Be Returned to Italian Library

On Friday, German authorities handed to the Italians just over 500 stolen antiquarian books that had been taken from the historic Gerolamini Library in Naples between 2011-2012. The books are only a small part of the 2000 volumes that have gone missing from the library in what is dubbed as the biggest book theft in modern memory.

Former director of the library, Italian Marino Massimo de Caro, was convicted of the theft in 2012. The two most valuable books included in the collection are by Italian physicist Galileo Galilei, which alone are worth 200,000 euros.

For more background on this story, click HERE & HERE