Shahla Ujayli Explained

Shahla Ujayli
Occupation:Literary writer and academic
Nationality:Syrian
Alma Mater:University of Aleppo
Period:2005 - present
Notable Works:A Bed for the King’s Daughter, A Sky so Close to Us, Summer with the Enemy
Awards:Al Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story
Genre:Contemporary Arabic literature
Birth Place:Raqqa, Syria

Shahla Ujayli (born 1976) is a Syrian fiction writer and academic. A laureate of the Al Multaqa Prize for Arabic short stories, she became notable for her short story collection A Bed for the King’s Daughter and for her novels Summer with the Enemy and A Sky Close to Our House. Some of her works have been translated into English and German. Her work is part of contemporary Syrian literature in the context of imprisonment, war and exile.

Life and career

Ujayli studied modern Arabic literature at Aleppo University, graduating with a doctorate. Subsequently, she became a lecturer at the American University in Madaba, Jordan. She made her literary debut in 2005, publishing a short story collection called The Mashrabiyya.[1] [2]

Her first novels, written in Arabic, were The Cat's Eye (2006) that won the Jordan State Award for Literature, Persian Carpet (2013) and A Sky Close to Us (2015).[3] The last-named book was nominated for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). Her short story collection A Bed for the King’s Daughter, published in Arabic in 2017, was awarded the Al Multaqa Prize.[4] Ujayli was also a participant at the 2014 IPAF nadwa, an annual writing workshop for promising emerging writers.[5] In 2019, her novel Summer with the Enemy was again shortlisted for the IPAF.[6]

Selected works

Fiction in English translation

Academic studies

Literature

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lynx Qualey . Marcia . 2019-04-26 . Portrait of the Syrian writer Shahla Ujayli. Lessons in empathy . https://web.archive.org/web/20190426173835/https://en.qantara.de/content/portrait-of-the-syrian-writer-shahla-ujayli-lessons-in-empathy#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=urltrait-of-the-syrian-writer-shahla-ujayli-lessons-in-empathy#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url . 2019-04-26 . 2024-09-14 . qantara.de.
  2. Web site: Shahla Ujayli . 2024-09-14 . Riyadh Review of Books . en-US.
  3. Book: A SKY SO CLOSE TO US Kirkus Reviews . en.
  4. Web site: 2021-03-31 . 'A Bed for the King's Daughter': Finding a Home for Arabic Short Stories in Translation . 2024-09-14 . ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY . en-US.
  5. Web site: Shahla Ujayli . arabicfiction.org.
  6. Web site: Hartman . Michelle . 2022-07-20 . 'Summer with the Enemy' by Syrian novelist Shahla Ujayli is a searing summer read . 2024-09-14 . The Conversation . en-US.
  7. Web site: 2021-06-17 . From the Archives: Shahla Ujayli on Getting Raqqa Back Through Writing . 2024-09-14 . ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY . en-US.

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