Hisham Matar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hisham Matar | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1970 (age 37–38) New York City, New York, United States of America |
| Occupation | Novelist, Poet & Essayist |
| Writing period | 2004–present |
| Genres | fiction |
| Notable work(s) | In the Country of Men |
Hisham Matar (born 1970) [1] is a Libyan author. His debut novel In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize.[1]. Matar’s essays have appeared in the Asharq Alawsat, The Independent, The Guardian, The Times and The New York Times. He currently lives and writes in London.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Hisham Matar was born in New York City. He spent his childhood in America with his Libyan parents while his father was working for the Libyan delegation to the United Nations. When he was three years old, his family went back to Tripoli, Libya, where he spent his early childhood. Due to political persecutions by the Gaddafi regime, in 1979 his father was accused of being a reactionary to the Libyan revolutionary regime and was forced to flee the country with his family. They lived in exile in Egypt where Hisham and his brother completed their schooling in Cairo.[2][3] In 1986 he moved to London, United Kingdom, where he continued his studies and received a degree in architecture. In 1990, while he was still in London, his father, a political dissident, was kidnapped in Cairo. He has been reported missing ever since. However, in 1996, the family received two letters with his father's handwriting stating that he was kidnapped by the Egyptian secret police, handed over to the Libyan regime, and imprisoned in the notorious Abu-Salim prison in the heart of Tripoli. Since that date, there has been no more information about his father's whereabouts.
Hisham Matar began writing poetry and experimented in theatre. He began writing his first novel In the Country of Men in early 2000. In the autumn of 2005, the publishers Penguin International signed a two-book deal with him, and the novel was a huge success.
[edit] Awards and recognition
His first novel, In the Country of Men, was published in July 2006 and received accolades from such notable figures as J M Coetzee, Anne Michaels and Nadeem Aslam.[4] It went on to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.[5], and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2006.[6] It has won the 2007 Commonwealth First Book Award for Europe and South Asia, the 2007 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, the Italian Premio Vallombrosa Gregor von Rezzori, the Italian Premio Internazionale Flaiano (Sezione Letteratura) and the inaugural Arab American National Museum Book Award. "In the Country of Men" has been translated into 22 languages.
[edit] Bibliography
- In the Country of Men, Viking-Penguin, 2006, ISBN 0-670-91639-0
[edit] See also
- English literature
- Libya
- Arabic literature
- Arab-American literature
[edit] References
- ^ a b Booker Prize Foundation (14 September 2006). "The Man Booker Prize 2006 Shortlist". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
- ^ Hisham Matar. Penguin UK. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
- ^ Hisham Matar. The Guardian (29 June 2006). Retrieved on 2006-06-29.
- ^ In the Country of Men. The Independent. Retrieved on 2006-09-24.
- ^ The Man Booker Award. The Man & Booker groups. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ The Guardian First Book Award. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
