Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner Said Khatibi in an interview about the importance of freedom to writers of his generation. Image: Sheikh Zayed Book Award
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
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Rights Edition: A ‘Scarce Historical Detective Novel in Arabic’
While our latest news from the United Arab Emirates‘ Sheikh Zayed Book Award is its recent program in Tokyo—advancing world studies of the Arabian Nights cannon—an independent publisher in the United Kingdom has announced its acquisition of world English rights to one of the newest Zayed Award winners.
Many in the UK’s readership, which exhibits an abiding pleasure in crime- and mystery-writing, will be glad to know that this book is considered something of an outlier, as a work of detective fiction in a setting of imminent political violence.
The Algerian writer Said Khatibi, 40, won the Young Author category in the program’s 17th edition—with its purse of 750,000 United Arab Emirates dirhams (US$204,203)—for his novel Nihāyat al-ṣaḥrā’ (The End of the Sahara), from Hachette’s Antoine/Nofal in 2022. Alexander Elinson has been tapped to translate the novel, expected to be published in the United Kingdom and United States in early 2026.
In writing of its jurors’ analysis, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award program noted the rarity of historical detective fiction in contemporary Arabic work, but also pointed out that the piece is set in some six weeks that foreshadowed the October 1988 riots in Algiers.
Khatibi’s novel, according to the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Scientific Committee’s rationale, “exhibits imaginative characteristics, stylistic originality, and narrative proficiency in the genre of detective literature.
“It skillfully arranges events and utilizes storytelling techniques, making it a noteworthy addition to the scarce historical detective novels in modern Arabic literature that cater to younger readers and encompass various societal settings.
“The text is distinguished by its eloquence and seamless flow, keeping the reader engaged without pause or tedium.”
In commenting on the acquisition, the co-founding publisher of Bitter Lemon Press, François von Hurter, says, “We are very proud to be publishing our first novel translated from Arabic.
“A crime novel set in Algeria during a difficult period for the country, it’s written with verve and sensitivity by a young Algerian author—as perfect a fit with our list as we could imagine.”
Khatibi currently is based in Slovenia, a native of Algeria (Bou Saâda) who writes in both Arabic and French and translates between them.
His BA in French literature is from the University of Algiers, and his MA in cultural studies is from the Sorbonne. Sarajevo Firewood, his third novel, was shortlisted for the 2020 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. His other novels are The Book of Errors, which was published in 2013, and Forty Years Waiting for Isabelle.
The forthcoming English edition’s translator, Alexander Elinson, teaches Arabic at City University of New York’s (CUNY) Hunter College.
He has translated two novels by Youssef Fadel: A Beautiful White Cat Walks With Me and A Shimmering Red Fish Swims With Me, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation—which, as our readers know, just announced its 2024 longlist. He also translated the much-discussed Hot Maroc by Yassin Adnan, also shortlisted for the Banipal in 2022.
His translation of Khadija Marouazi`s prison novel History of Ash was shortlisted for the 2024 EBRD Literature Prize, and is on the Banipal longlist.
Khatibi: ‘I Wrote It Like a Boxer’
“In his comments to one of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s cameras at the lavish prize ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Khatibi spoke of his award as an honor and an encouragement for his generation of “post-tragedy Algeria, a generation that fought with its writing, and I am quite proud of them.”
“Clearly in touch with the complexities of many Arabic writers’ place in modern events, he said, “I wrote it like a boxer caught in a ring of history more than that of conflict – a fight to restore honor and appreciation to a generation of writers that we owe much to, a generation that goes beyond Algeria.
“My advice, if I dare say, is advice I often give myself as a writer: A writer has to fight for his right to freedom and the right to break away from ideological and intellectual limitations that may ensnare them. Freedom is the biggest asset for us writers before we start writing.”
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s video comments from 2023 Young Author writer Said Khatibi are here, with English captions:
A Programing Note
As part of our Publishing Perspectives Forum at Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 16 to 20), we’re pleased to offer trade visitors an Arabic Publishing and Literature Networking Reception with the Shiekh Zayed Book Award. Here are the details:
Arabic Publishing and Literature Networking Reception
Sheikh Zayed Book Award and Publishing Perspectives
14:00 to 14:45 CEST
At Frankfurt Studio Pop-Up, Hall 4.0
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award and Publishing Perspectives invite you to join us for networking in Frankfurt.
Enjoy refreshments and meet our growing community of publishers, translators, agents and other book industry experts who are interested in Arabic literature. Get to know the Sheikh Zayed Book Award team, this year’s winning titles, and translation grant opportunities. Please RSVP here.
The secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, chair of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, and the program, award program, which operates in 10 categories, is expected to announce its new round of longlists in November.
The 2024 Sheikh Zayed Book Award Rights Guide is available here. And you can find the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center at Sheikh Zayed Book Award at Frankfurter Buchmesse at Hall 5.1, stand B14.
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award is here, more on the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is here, more on Arabic literature is here, and more on translation is here. More from us on publishing and book awards in the international industry is here, and more on the United Kingdom’s market is here.
Publishing Perspectives is the world media partner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
About the Author
