"From Historical Foundations to Modern Narratives: The Evolution of Egyptian Literature" Session
Date October, 20 2024
Location Frankfurt Book Fair
As part of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre’s participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair’s activities, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, in collaboration with "Litprom", organised a session titled "From Historical Foundations to Modern Narratives: The Evolution of Egyptian Literature", during which the SZBA’s winner in Literature Category, Reem Bassiouney, discussed her historical novels set in mediaeval Egypt with Arabist Barbara Winckler and translator Stefan Weidner. The speakers also discussed the broader impact of literature and historical novels.
Speakers
Dr Reem Bassiouney
Dr Reem Bassiouney is an Egyptian Author, Professor, and Chair of the Linguistics Department at the American University in Cairo. She’s the Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner in Literature category (2024).
Dr Barbara Winckler
Dr Barbara Winckler is Senior Academic Advisor for Arabic Literature and Modern Culture at the Institute for Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies, University of Münster.
Stefan Weidner
Stefan Weidner is a renowned German writer, translator, and literary critic, with a specialization in Arabic literature. In September 2019 his collection of critical essays, 1,001 Books, will be published by Edition Converso, Germany. Weidner will speak about this project, which situates Arabic literature in the context of world literature today, shedding new light onto it from the perspective of postcolonial theory on one hand and the interested Western readership on the other.