The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) announced today that a unique "Book of Excerpts" from the six shortlisted novels for the 2010 IPAF Prize will be published early next week in Arabic and English.

Thanks to the support of two of the UAE’s leading newspapers, complimentary copies will be distributed on Saturday February 27 with The National and on Sunday February 28 with Al Ittihad, whose combined readership is over 400,000..

"The book includes striking excerpts from the six shortlisted novels, with biographies of the writers, the judges and the translators who worked on the texts," said Salwa Mikdadi, Head of the Arts and Culture Programme at the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy, which provides funding for the Prize to its Board of Trustees.

"We hope the Prize will stimulate interest and increase readership of the Arab novel regionally and internationally." The overall winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Tuesday March 2, 2010 in Abu Dhabi, during a ceremony attended by prominent literary figures and publishers from throughout the Arab World and internationally. The six shortlisted authors, the Judging Panel and IPAF Trustees will also attend.

This prestigious literary prize, now in its third year, aims to recognise and reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing - as well as to encourage wider readership of such Arabic literature locally and internationally through translation. It is independently administered by its own Board of Trustees, with the support of the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy and the UK’s Booker Prize Foundation.

The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is funded by the Emirates Foundation, one of the leading philanthropic organisations in the UAE and is managed with the support of the Booker Prize Foundation in the UK.

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