Sharjah: It is not a writer’s job to categorise his or her book into any particular genre, it is for readers or critics to decide, a panel of Arab writers echoed during a literary session on the first evening of Sharjah International Book Fair 2015.
In a session on similarities between literary genres, a panel of renowned Arab writers Dr Shukri Al Makhbout, Fatima Sultan Al Mazroui and Hoda Barakat shared their thoughts on the similarities between genres and how writers are least bothered about the issues of classification of their …

Ibn Rushd Foundation for the Freedom of Thought is an association based in Germany, whose members are from the Arab diaspora or live across various Arab countries. It takes its name after the philosopher Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), taking it upon itself to support free thought and democratic forces in the Arab world by offering an annual prize. The award is independent, funded by contributions from its members and donations from supporters, with no link to any political or ideological trends. The award’s topic change each year.

Mou’in Al Bayari, for Al Araby, October 16th, 2015
The Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich, journalist, meets with many people who witnessed the tragedy she writes about about. She gathers their testimonies, and creates out of an open collage a narrative. The result is not a novel in the usual sense of the term, nor is it a reportage or an investigation. It is a meeting of literature with journalism. It invoques reality, as it is, but with an elevated writing style, rich with words expressing both the intimate and the apparent.

An interview by Ruth Reif, for Der Standaart, published on October 2, 2015

“My soul remains in Syria»
A year after the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, Samar Yazbek was forced to flee. Her name was blacklisted. Since then she has returned several times secretly to her home to interview people.