The longlist for the 2020 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) has just been announced, revealing that out of 16 longlisted novels no less than 4 are by Algerian writers this year. They are The Spartan Court by Abdelouahab Aissaoui, The stairs of Tolar by Samir Kacimi, The mingling of seasons by Bachir Mefti, and Firewood of Sarajevo by Said Khatibi. This longlist also includes novels by authors from other North African countries: Al-Mutanabbi’s Rabat by Hassan Aourid (Morocco), The Golden Hamam by Mohammed Eissa al-Mu’adab (Tunisia), The War of the Gazelle by Aisha Ibrahim (Libya), and two novels from Egypt, The Last Days of the Pasha by Rasha Adly and Fardeqan – the Detention of the Great SheikhYoussef Ziedan. The other authors are from the Middle East with Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Saudi Arabia (see full list here).
IPAF was launched in 2007 and describes itself as "the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world". It is funded by the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT) and is mentored by the Booker Prize Foundation in London.
Since it began, IPAF announces a longlist at the end of the year, followed by a shortlist in or near February, with a ceremony in the Spring held in Abu Dhabi during which a winner is awarded the prize. Shortlisted authors receive $10,000 US, and the winning author receives a further $50,000 US, with "a commitment that IPAF will meet the cost of translation of the winning novel into English to help underwrite its publication for an English speaking readership". From 2009, IPAF also began to run a writers' workshop called Nadwa, to support "emerging writers of fiction in Arabic". The Algerian writer Abdelouahab Aissaoui whose novel is longlisted for 2020, was a Nadwa participant in 2016, and Samir Kacimi, the first Algerian novelist to have been longlisted in 2010, was a participant to the Nadwa in 2013.
No Algerian novel made it to the IPAF longlist until two years after the first edition, in 2010, with A Great Day to Die by Samir Kacimi, published by the Algerian powerhouse El-Ikhtilef editions.
In 2011, The Andalucian House by Waciny Laredj (Al-Jamal editions) was longlisted, and in 2012 Toy of Fire by Bashir Mefti (El-Ikhtilef) not only made it to the longlist, but was also shortlisted.
In 2013, not one but two novels by Algerian writers were longlisted, both by household names, Lolita's Fingers by Waciny Laredj (Dar Sada) and The Goatherd by Amin Zaoui (El-Ikhtilef).
In 2014, Waciny Laredj appeared on the longlist again with Ashes of the East: The Wolf who Grew Up in the Wilderness (Al-Jamal editions). Then a three year absence occurs: no novel by an Algerian novelist appears on the longlist in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
2018 sees the return of the DZ novel with yet another Amin Zaoui novel, Leg Over Leg - in the Sighting of the Lovers' Crescent (El-Ikhtilef).
In 2019, a well-known figure is longlisted, again, Waciny Laredj for "May — the Nights of Isis Copia" (Dar Al-Adab), together with a fresh name for IPAF, but well-known in Algeria: Al-Habib Sayah with Me and Haim published by MIM editions, a new publishers compared to the old hands of El-Ikhtilef, but dedicated to supporting new voices and fresh styles.
Over the 13 editions of the IPAF so far, the Algerian novel was absent 5 times. In the 8 editions during which Algerian novels and novelists were present, Waciny Laredj was longlisted 4 times, Amin Zaoui appeared twice (he is now judge in 2020), Samir Kacimi twice like Bachir Mefti. Mefti has so far been the only DZ writer whose novel has made it to the shortlist. In terms of publishing houses, El-Ikhtilef editions was behind the books selected in numerous years (2009, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2020), and MIM is behind two (2019 and 2020).
The 'new' voices of Algeria, as represented in the IPAF, have been Abdelouahab Aissaoui, Said Khatibi (two young writers), and Habib Sayyah (a well-known figure on the Algerian literary scene), all three listed only once, so far.
The appearance of any Algerian novel on the IPAF no doubt relies on the work of Algerian publishers and their sending submissions every year. I would very much like to have access to the list of what was received from Algeria by the judges over the years (judges whose job it is to select 16 novels out of over 150 submitted) not only to see which Algerian publishing house sends what, but also to try to understand why no Algerian female novelist has ever appeared on the longlist in 13 years!
There has been no shortage of novels produced by Algerian women, by household names such as Rabia Djelti, nor by new and fresh voices like Amina Chikh, Amal Bouchareb, or Djamila Morani to only name my favourites. And Rabia Djelti is published by El-Ikhtilef. One name I would also be investigating of the list of submissions is that of Smail Yabrir, a phenomenal writer known for his family sagas usually set in his hometown, Djelfa, to revist its history.