the list of the final selection of the 14th edition of the international prize for the Arab novel “Booker 2021”, was unveiled by the Jury. “Milaf 42” (file 42) by Moroccan Abdelmajid Sebbata is included.
For his novel, edited by the Arab Cultural Center, Abdelmajid Sebbata claims to have been inspired by an article, read in October 2017, and dealing with the subject of the disaster of adulterated oils in Morocco shortly after its independence, explained the author in a interview published on the Prize’s website.
The decision to bring to light “this forgotten subject” was imposed, with a view to presenting it “to my generation so that they know the details and finally be able to rehabilitate – albeit symbolically – the victims”, he said. added.
It should be noted that the International Prize for Arab Fiction (International Prize for Arab Fiction), created in 2008, rewards each year a work written in Arabic and aims to extend the international influence of Arabic literature through the funding of translations. It is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation in London and funded by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism.
Managed by the Booker Prize Foundation, it is endowed with $ 50,000 for the first laureate who will also have the necessary funding for the English translation of his novel. The six finalist novelists each win a prize of $ 10,000.
The novels are selected by an international jury chaired by the Lebanese writer and poet Chawki Bazih. The other members are Mohammed Ait Hanna (Moroccan writer, translator and academician), Safa Jubran (academic in Sao Paolo, Brazil), Ali Al-Muqri (Yemeni writer) and Ayesha Sultan (Emirati writer, journalist and editor).
