Algiers \u2014 August 19, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The National Agency for Communication, Publishing and Advertising (ANEP) unveiled on Wednesday the longlist for the eighth edition of the Asia Djebar Grand Prize for the Novel, bringing together 26 works written in Arabic, Tamazight and French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement was made during a press conference held at ANEP\u2019s headquarters in Algiers, in the presence of members of the jury. More than a literary announcement, the event offered a snapshot of the vitality and diversity of Algeria\u2019s contemporary novel, while placing ANEP once again at the heart of a major national cultural gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
155 novels, 53 publishers<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Hakim Miloud, chairman of the jury, the 2026 edition attracted 155 novels submitted by 53 Algerian publishing houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The submissions included 79 novels in Arabic, 13 in Tamazight and 63 in French. Following the evaluation process, the jury selected 26 works for the longlist: 10 in Arabic, six in Tamazight and 10 in French.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The figures are significant not only for the scale of participation, but also for what they reveal about the breadth of Algeria\u2019s literary production. Three languages, distinct literary traditions and a wide range of voices have converged within a single prize carrying the name of one of Algeria\u2019s most internationally recognized writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miloud described the selected works as particularly diverse in both themes and approaches. History, biography, the memory of places, psychological narratives, experimental writing and elements of the fantastic all feature among the works retained by the jury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three languages, one literary landscape<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Arabic-language longlist includes works such as \u201cArous Al-Dam\u201d (Blood Weddings) by Hussein Allam, \u201cThe Only Letter\u2026 Perhaps the Last\u201d by Amalia Friha, \u201cAl-Rafraf: A Biography of the Mountain, the Legend\u201d by Sara Mohamed Ma\u00e2rish, and \u201cTahnan: The Spring, the Mountain and the Blue Sapphire\u201d by Leila Tebani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The list also includes \u201cIman: The Spider That Became a Flower\u201d by Ahmed Dalil, \u201cShadows of Kouri and Wings of Hope\u201d by Mubarak Balnaoui, \u201cBouya II: The Brides of the Qaysariya\u201d by Fadila Melham, \u201cThe Year of the Flower\u201d by El-Kheir Chouar, and \u201cMadame Marie\u2019s Apartment\u201d by Souria Madi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tamazight longlist comprises six works: Tasrit tis tes\u025ba by Said Ali Cherifi, IYsi N Wurey by Dahia Hamitouche, D Asderfet by Chehba Ben Gana, TiYri n Tudert by Siham Harikncheikh, AGGUS by Farida Sahoui, and Akud I Tudert, Tagnit I Tayri by Djamel Banaouif.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The French-language selection features ten novels, including Un olivier au clair de lune by Bel\u00e0ld Abane, Partout le m\u00eame ciel by Hajar Bali, \u00c9cris et je viendrai by Meryem Belka\u00efd, L\u2019h\u00e9ritage du silence by Manel Benchouk, and Marjane by Malika Chitour Daoudi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining titles are Am\u00e9norrh\u00e9e by Sarah Haidar, Ce que la mort m\u2019a pris de toi by Hosni Kitouni, La femme qui \u00e9coutait la montagne by Rachid Oulebsir, Samovar (une conqu\u00eate alg\u00e9rienne) by Keltoum Staali, and La Footballeuse by Nadjib Stambouli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ANEP and the institutional life of literature<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The significance of Wednesday\u2019s gathering extends beyond the announcement itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By hosting the press conference at its headquarters, ANEP positioned itself as an institutional platform for the visibility of Algerian literary creation, bringing together authors, publishers, jury members and the national media around one of the country\u2019s most prominent literary prizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That role is particularly relevant for a prize whose defining characteristic is linguistic plurality. Arabic, Tamazight and French are not treated as competing literary spaces, but as three expressions of a broader Algerian literary landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this sense, the Asia Djebar Prize does more than reward a novel. It provides an institutional framework through which the diversity of Algeria\u2019s literary production can be identified, evaluated and brought to wider public attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prize bearing a powerful name<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Established in 2015, the Grand Prize is named after Assia Djebar (1936\u20132015), the Algerian novelist, academic and internationally acclaimed writer whose work crossed linguistic, cultural and geographical boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prize seeks to promote Algerian literary creation and contribute to its recognition both nationally and internationally. Its multilingual structure is also a reflection of the complexity and richness of the country’s literary heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 jury is composed of ten academics, novelists and specialists in literature, translation and sociology. It is chaired by Hakim Miloud, with Mustapha Madi, Hamid Bouhabib, Ma\u00efssa Bey, Cherif Meribai, Meriem Kacham, Le\u00efla Hamoutane, Ahcene Ma\u00e2rish, Kessila Aliq and Idir Belali serving as members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The road to October<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The announcement of the longlist marks only the first major stage of the competition. The 26 selected novels will now proceed through further evaluation before the winners are announced on October 8, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For ANEP, however, the significance of the event lies beyond the final prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The longlist offers a rare collective portrait of contemporary Algerian fiction: Arabic, Tamazight and French; historical memory and personal experience; places, identities, psychological worlds and literary experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in bringing these voices together under the name of Assia Djebar, ANEP is helping turn a literary competition into something larger \u2014 a public showcase of the continuing evolution, plurality and creative strength of Algerian literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Algiers \u2014 August 19, 2026 The National Agency for Communication, Publishing and Advertising (ANEP) unveiled on Wednesday the longlist for the eighth edition of the Asia Djebar Grand Prize for the Novel, bringing together 26 works written in Arabic, Tamazight and French. The announcement was made during a press conference held at ANEP\u2019s headquarters in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-algeria"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68804,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68802\/revisions\/68804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/68803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}