Dima Wannous (Arabic: ديمة ونوس; born 1982 in Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian literary writer and journalist. She studied French literature at Damascus University and the University of Paris - Sorbonne. She also studied translation in France and has lived in Beirut, where she worked for the newspapers Al-Hayat and As-Safir. She has also worked for broadcast media (radio and TV).
Wannous first became known with Tafasil (Details), a short story collection released in 2007, which describes the Syrian society focussing on different characters with "ironic-grotesque overtones" and showing how they bow to power.[1] She published her debut novel Kursi (The Chair) in 2008. In 2009, she was named as one of the Beirut39, a group of 39 Arab writers under the age of 40 chosen through a contest by Banipal magazine and the Hay Festival.[2]
Her 2017 novel Kha'ifoun (The Frightened Ones), describes the life of a young woman in Damascus during the Syrian civil war who receives a manuscript by a former lover who had fled to Germany. The book was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction,[3] and has been translated into English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Turkish, and Norwegian.[4] [5]
Her narrative style has been described as "sober and often painfully precise".[6]
Dima Wannous is the daughter of Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous.[7] She is married to the Syrian journalist Ibrahim Hamidi[8] and both live in London.[9]