The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) has revealed the longlist of 16 novels in contention for the 2023 prize, which will award $50,000 to the ultimate winner.
The longlisted authors range in age from 40 to 77 and hail from nine countries. The novels cover an extensive range of topics, including migration, exile and the refugee experience, and both fleeting and profound human relationships. Explorations of childhood are prevalent, with coming-of-age narratives revealing the ramifications of political unrest and conflict on the family and country from a child’s perspective.
The longlist has been chosen from a total of 124 submissions by a panel of five judges chaired by Moroccan writer and novelist Mohammed Achaari. Joining him on the judging panel are Egyptian academic and novelist Reem Bassiouney, Algerian novelist, researcher and journalist Fadhila El Farouk, Swedish university professor and translator Tetz Rooke, and Omani writer and academic Aziza al-Ta’I.
The full 2023 longlist, listed in alphabetical order by author surname, is as follows:
| Author | Title | Country of origin | Publisher |
| Ahmad Abdulatif | The Ages of Daniel in the City of Threads | Egypt
|
Dar al-Ain |
| Fatima Abdulhamid | The Highest Part of the Horizon | Saudi Arabia | Masciliana – UAE |
| Al-Sadiq Haj Ahmed | Drought | Algeria | Dar Dwaya |
| Zahran Alqasmi | The Exile of the Water Diviner | Oman | Rashm |
| Najwa Binshatwan | Concerto Qurina Eduardo | Libya | Takween – Iraq |
| Lina Huyan Elhassan | Ruler of the Two Fortresses | Syria | Dar al-Adab |
| Ahmed El-Fakharany | Bar Lialina | Egypt | Dar al-Shorouk |
| Mohammed Harradi | The Melody of the Rabbit | Morocco | Al-Mutawassit |
| Sausan Jamil Hasan | My Name is Zayzafoune | Syria | Al-Rabie Publications |
| Aisha Ibrahim | The Box of Sand | Libya | Al-Mutawassit |
| Nasser Iraq | The Antikkhana | Egypt | Dar al-Shorouk |
| Azhar Jerjis | The Stone of Happiness | Iraq | Dar Al-Rafidain – Lebanon |
| Rabia Raihane | The Family House | Morocco | Dar al-Ain |
| Miral al-Tahawy | Days of the Shining Sun | Egypt | Dar al-Ain |
| Qassem Tawfik | One Night is Enough | Jordan | Alaan |
| May Telmissany | They All Say I Love You | Egypt | Dar al-Shorouk |
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and was originally mentored by the Booker Prize Foundation in London.
