Ibrahim Abdel Meguid

was born in Alexandria in 1946. He is one of Egypt’s most respected and well-known of authors. Soon after completing a BA in philosophy at Alexandria University in 1973, he published his first novel, and soon took up the position of Consultant for Cultural Matters at the Popular Culture Council. He has authored many novels and short stories, all set in Egypt during particular historical periods, with many translated into French and English. Among his best known are No One Sleeps in Alexandria, The Other Place and Birds of Amber, all translated into English by Farouk Abdel Wahab, the winner of the 2007 Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.