This is Beirut

Boualem Sansal Rejects Far-Right Nomination for Sakharov Prize

This is Beirut, 16/09 11:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Boualem Sansal Algeria France Writer Culture Art

Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal has opposed his nomination for the 2025 Sakharov Prize by the far-right group in the European Parliament led by Jordan Bardella (RN), his publisher Gallimard confirmed on Monday. The group Patriots for Europe (PfE), which has 85 members of the European Parliament, put forward Sansal’s name for the annual ...

Renowned Egyptian Novelist Sonallah Ibrahim Dies at the Age of 88

This is Beirut, 14/08 18:07 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Writer Obituary Sonallah Ibrahim Egypt Culture

Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim, famed for his critiques of political repression, neoliberalism and Western hegemony, has died at the age of 88, the culture ministry announced on Wednesday. Ibrahim "passed away today, leaving behind an immortal literary and humanitarian legacy," Culture Minister Ahmed Fouad Hanno said in a tribute, calling the ...

Algerian Court to Rule on Boualem Sansal’s Jail Appeal

This is Beirut, 01/07 11:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Boualem Sansal Algeria Writer Culture Art France

An Algerian court is expected to deliver a verdict Tuesday on prosecutors' bid to double the jail term of a dual-national author whose conviction has strained ties with France. Boualem Sansal, 80, was first sentenced to five years behind bars on March 27 on charges related to undermining Algeria's territorial integrity over comments made to a ...

Short-Cycle Prose: Georges Perec, the Washing Machine’s Poet

Bélinda Ibrahim, 27/05 17:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Georges Perec Washing Machine Writer Literature Poet Culture

A drum, a muffled sound, cycles, programs. A round door swings open onto the world’s laundry. A washing machine, yes – but for Georges Perec, it’s never just an appliance. It’s a trigger – his engine for writing. In the workshop of this master of literary constraints, even the most ordinary object can become a source of invention. ...

Rushdie's Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years in US Prison

This is Beirut, 17/05 11:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Salman Rushdie US Iran Freedom Culture Writer

Hadi Matar, the American-Lebanese man who stabbed Salman Rushdie in 2022, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison in the United States. Rushdie, a symbol of freedom of expression, sustained serious injuries in the knife attack. Matar, 27, who grew up in the U.S., was found guilty in February of attempted murder and assault by a jury following ...

Salman Rushdie’s attacker to be sentenced this Friday

This is Beirut, 16/05 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Salman Rushdie Writer Iran Culture Art Justice

Hadi Matar will be sentenced on Friday for trying to kill novelist Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack at a New York cultural center. Hadi Matar, 27, faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder and assault charges in February this year. During the trial, Rushdie told jurors about Matar "stabbing and slashing" him ...

Algeria Targets Author Kamel Daoud in Legal Dispute

This is Beirut, 13/05 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria France Writer Culture Art

Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, who is the subject of two international arrest warrants from Algeria and a legal complaint in France, called the legal actions against him “a form of judicial persecution” in an interview with the French daily Le Figaro on Monday. Daoud, who won the 2024 Goncourt Prize, also described the legal saga as “a ...

Peru Pays Final Tribute to Literary Giant Vargas Llosa

This is Beirut, 15/04 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Culture Art Peru Mario Vargas Llosa Writer

The Peruvian flag flew at half-staff Monday as the South American country marked the passing of literary great Mario Vargas Llosa with a day of national mourning. Tributes poured in from around the world as President Dina Boluarte attended a private wake at the Vargas Llosa family home for the novelist and Nobel laureate, who died there Sunday ...

Algerian writer Boualem Sansal faces 10-year prison sentence

This is Beirut, 21/03 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria France Writer Human Rights

Algerian prosecutors have requested a 10-year prison sentence for French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, accused of undermining the country's territorial integrity, local media reported Thursday. Sansal, a prominent figure in North African modern Francophone literature, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as Islamists. The ...

Boualem Sansal Chooses to Defend Himself and Denies Hunger Strike

This is Beirut, 25/02 18:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria Censorship Culture Art Writer Journalist

The French-Algerian writer, who has been in custody since mid-November, has not begun a hunger strike nor halted his medical treatment, as stated by his lawyer in Paris. Instead, he intends to represent himself, according to Mohamed Baghdadi, the head of the Algiers Bar Association. "Contrary to what has been reported, he is not on a hunger ...

Writers Rally as Boualem Sansal Begins Hunger Strike

This is Beirut, 24/02 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Algeria Censorship Writer Culture Art

Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, imprisoned in Algeria since mid-November, began a hunger strike on Monday, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday, citing information from a judicial source. "I fear for his health, as well as for the possibility of a fair trial," said François Zimeray, the writer’s French lawyer, confirming a report by Le Journal ...

Bruno Tabbal Presents His Novel 'Le Pays Dont On Ne Guérit Jamais'

Marie-Christine Tayah, 31/01 18:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Lebanon Beirut Writer Theater Book

Bruno Tabbal takes readers on a remarkable journey with his novel Le pays dont on ne guérit jamais. At Le Monnot theater on Wednesday, February 5, from 5 PM onward, he merges literature and immersion for an unprecedented book signing experience. In his conversation with This is Beirut, Bruno Tabbal discusses his artistic and literary path. He ...

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