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Past Events
17/02/2021
18.00 GMT
Livestreamed
18.00 GMT
Livestreamed
Celebrating Velvet:
An Evening with Kay Heikkinen and Huzama Habayeb
A special online event celebrating the winner of the 2020 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, Kay Heikkinen, for her translation of the novel Velvet by Huzama Habayeb (published by Hoopoe Fiction). The event featured the translator and author in conversation, with readings in Arabic and English, Q&A, moderated by Paul Starkey (chair of judges and chair of the Banipal Trust). With Fairouz's songs running through the novel as an inspiration to protagonist Hawwa, the event ended with a musical finale – a Fairouz song sung by acclaimed Iran/American singer-songwriter Azam Ali.
Click the image or HERE to watch the video of the event
The judges in this 15th year of the Prize comprised Emeritus Professor of Arabic, University of Durham Paul Starkey (Chair), fiction editor at The Guardian Justine Jordan, writer, publisher & broadcaster Nii Ayikwei Parkes, and film director & philanthropist Omar Al-Qattan.
Click for all details about the 2020 prize – the entries, the shortlist and the winner.
Click here for all information about the judging panel of the 2020 prize.
An Iraqi in Paris by Samuel Shimon
The Cinderellas of Muscat by Huda Hamed (Banipal Books, 2025)
The Tent Generations
Things I Left Behind by Shada Mustafa, translated by Nancy Roberts
Shadow of the Sun by Taleb Alrefai
Birds of Nabaa, A Mauritanian Tale by Abdallah Uld Mohamadi Bah
The Stone Serpent, Barates of Palmyra’s Elegy for Regina his Beloved by Nouri Al-Jarrah
Mansi A Rare Man in His Own Way by Tayeb Saleh (Banipal Books, 2020)
Tayeb Salih
Goat Mountain by Habib Selmi
Habib Selmi, author of Goat Mountain and 3 times shortlisted for the IPAF
The Mariner by Taleb Alrefai (Banipal Books, 2020)
Taleb Alrefai, author of Shadow of the Sun and The Mariner
Fadhil Al-Azzawi's Beautiful Creatures by Fadhil al-Azzawi (Banipal Books, 2021)
Fadhil al-Azzawi
Poems of Alexandria and New York by Ahmed Morsi (Banipal Books, 2021)
Saïd Khatibi
Amjad Nasser (1955–2019)
Digital Banipal the full archive
Ahmed Morsi, author of Poems of Alexandria and New York
Sarajevo Firewood
The Madness of Despair
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Link to poems by Mosab Abu Toha, published in Banipal 71 (Summer 2021), available to read online
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Link to poem by Liana Badr published in Banipal 74, now available as an online selection
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GRIFFIN PRIZE SHORTLIST 2023
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Banipal Book Club
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