DZ literature

Chawki Amari discusses his latest novel Balak with Daikha Dridi on Radio M. Balak was released on 30 October (Barzakh eds) in time for the International Book Fair of Algiers. For a review of Balak in French, continue to read here .

Source : APS The 4th edition of the Assia Djebar prize for best novel was awarded to Nahed Boukhalfa for the Arabic category and his novel "سيران وجهة رجل متفائل" (Siren, destination of an optimist man), Mhenni Khalifi for the Tamazight category and his novel "Imehbal" (Madmen), and Ryad Girod for the French category and his "Les yeux de Mansour" (The eyes of Mansour). This year, a total of 66 novels, 26 in Arabic, 32 in French and 8 in Tamazight were submitted to the jury. In 2017, the prize had been awarded to Merzak Bektache for his novel in Arabic "Rain writes its memoirs", to Mustapha Zaarouri his novel in Tamazight "Dwagi i d assirem-iw (This is my hope), and posthumously to Nourredine Saadi for his novel in French "Le Boulevard de l'Abime" (The Boulevard of The Abyss). Photo gallery here .

Anyone looking for a resource on Algerian women writers should visit http://algerianwomeninliterature.blogspot.com.

Salim Bachi's novel Dieu, Allah, moi et les autres ('God, Allah, me and the others', Gallimard, 2017) won the Renaudot Prize for best paperback. This French prize, created in 1926, opened a special category for paperbacks in 2009. Although not officially related to the Goncourt, the Renaudot Prize complements its selection and follows the same timeline as the Goncourt. Every year, on the first Tuesday of November, its laureates are announced from Paris' Drouant restaurant.

Novelist Mustapha Benfodil's new novel Body Writing - the life and death of Karim Fatimi was released by Barzakh just in time for the Interational Book Fair of Algiers. Benfodil's last novel The archaeology of (amourous) chaos came out in 2007. Benfodil had since published a short story collection and a documentary but a novel was long awaited by fans.