Book Prizes and Power Plays

Join Kate Mosse, Rana Hayek, Will Eaves, Ali bin Tamim and Yasir Suleiman as they explore the influence of literary prizes – the importance placed on them by publishers and authors, how they capture the public imagination, and how winning can give books lasting impact. The panel will also reflect on the judging process itself: the element of chance, and the crucial role critics can play in bringing books to the panel’s attention. Discuss Naguib Mahfouz, first and only Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Han Kang who won the Nobel Prize in 2024). Kate Mosse, historian and playwright and Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction; Rana Hayek, Editorial Director, Hachette Antoine/Nofal, the Beirut-based publisher of 2018 Sheikh Zayed Award winner Remorse Test by Syrian author Khalil Swileh; Yasir Suleiman, Chair of the Board of Trustees, IPAF and Ali Bin Tamim, Chair of the Arabic Language Centre and Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.