Hoda Barakat
Lebanese novelist
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Hoda Barakat (Arabic: هدى بركات; born 1952) is a Lebanese novelist. She lived most of her early life in Beirut before moving to Paris, where she now resides. Her publications include novels, plays, a book of short stories, and a book of memoirs.[1] Her novel Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World was published in 2024 and won the Literature award at the 2025 Sheikh Zayed Book Award.[2]. [3] Her works are originally written in Arabic and have been translated into English, Hebrew, French, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, Romanian, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese,[4][5] and Greek.[6]
Hoda Barakat هدى بركات | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (age 73–74) |
| Occupations | writer, novelist |
Her work often explores themes of trauma and war; three of her early novels are narrated by male characters living in the margins of society during the Lebanese civil war.[7]
Biography
Barakat was raised in the Maronite Christian town of Bsharré, Lebanon. After moving to Beirut, Barakat studied French Literature at the Lebanese University, from which she graduated in 1975.[8] In 1975 and 1976, she lived in Paris, where she worked towards a PhD, but she decided to return home when the Lebanese Civil War started.[citation needed] During this period, she worked as a teacher, translator, and journalist. In 1985, she released her first formal publication, a collection of short stories called Za'irat ("Women Visitors").[citation needed]
She moved back to Paris in 1989 and has lived there ever since, publishing her remaining works from Paris, including Hajar al-Dahik (The Stone of Laughter, 1990) and Ahl el-Hawa (People of Love, 1993), among others. In addition to writing, she has also worked in radio broadcasting.[8]
In 2004, she visited the United Kingdom on the first Banipal Live UK tour.[9] Between 2010 and 2011, she was appointed as a fellow[10] in Nantes Institute for Advanced Study Foundation.[citation needed] In fall 2013, Barakat was appointed the first Arabic Scholar in Residence at the University of Texas at Austin Middle Eastern Studies Program.[11] She was also recently visiting professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth College and Artist in Residence at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University.[12][13]
Personal life
She married the poet Mohammad El Abdallah (Arabic: محمد العبدالله), whom she met in college.[14] She acquired French nationality by naturalization on 24 March 1998.[15]
Works translated into English
Hajar al-Dahik (1990), translated as The Stone of Laughter Ahl al-Hawa (1993), translated as Disciples of Passion Harith al-Miyah (1998), translated as The Tiller of Waters Sayyidi wa Habibi (2004) Malakut Hadhihi al-Ard (2012), translated as The Kingdom of This Earth Barid al-Layl (2018), translated as Voices of the Lost Hind, aw Ajmal Imra'a fi al-Alam (2024)
Awards
Barakat's first work Hajar al-Dahik (The Stone of Laughter), which is the first Arabic work to have a gay man as its main character, won the Al-Naqid prize.
Her third novel, Harit al-miyah (The Tiller of Waters), won the 2000 [[Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature]].[16]
Her 2019 novel Bareed Al-Layl ("The Night Mail") won the 2019 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF); it was thereafter translated into English by Marilyn Booth and published in English under the title Voices of the Lost.[17] Barakat is the second woman to have ever won the IPAF.[3] She was previously longlisted for the IPAF in 2013, for her novel Malakoot hadhahi al-ard ("The Kingdom of This Earth").[18]
She was decorated with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2002 and the Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite in 2008.[19][3]
Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Literature category (2025), for Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World (Dar al-Adab, 2024)
In 2025 she won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the Literature category for her novel Hind, or the Most Beautiful Woman in the World.[2]