DUBAI: The International Prize for Arabic Fiction has announced the 2020 shortlist, which features six works by Algerian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Syrian authors. Youssef Ziedan The Egyptian scholar, who specializes in Arabic and Islamic studies, is a university professor, public lecturer, columnist and prolific author. He has written two critically acclaimed novels — “Azazel” and “Fardeqan – The Detention of the Great Sheikh.” Jabbour Douaihy The Lebanese author has published seven works of fiction, including novels, short stories and children’s books. His novel “June Rain” was shortlisted for the inaugural IPAF in 2008. Abdelouahab Aissaoui Algerian novelist Abdelouahab Aissaoui’s first novel “Jacob’s Cinema” was published in 2013 and came first in the novel category of the President of the Republic Prize. He recently won the Assia Djebar Prize, widely regarded as the most important prize for the novel in Algeria. Khalil Alrez Khalil Alrez is a Syrian novelist and translator, who has published one play and nine novels, including “A White Cloud in the Window of the Grandmother” in 1998, “Where is Safed, Youssef?” in 2008 and “In Equal Measure” in 2014. Said Khatibi The Algerian novelist, who has worked in journalism since 2006, has published works including “The Orbit of Absence” — a translation into French of Algerian stories in 2009 — “Flaming Gardens of the East” — a book about travels in the Balkans, 2015. Alia Mamdouh Alia Mamdouh is an Iraqi writer and novelist. Her most famous novel is “Naphtalene” in 1986, which was translated into nine languages and taught to students at the Sorbonne University for two years.