Amel Mokhtar (Arabic: آمال مختار, romanizedʾĀmāl Mukhtār; born February 4, 1964) is a Tunisian journalist and novelist. She has won several prizes, including the COMAR Special Prize in 2006 for her novel Māystrū (Maestro).

Amel Mokhtar
Native name
آمال مختار
OccupationNovelist • Journalist • Writer
NationalityTunisian

Biography

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Mokhtar was born in the town of Maktar in the Siliana Governorate, Tunisia. She completed a bachelor's degree in Natural Science at the University of Tunis and began a career in journalism in 1985.[1]   

Mokhtar published many short stories in Tunisian newspapers and Arab literary magazines. She published her first novel, Nakhab al-hāyat, in 1993 with Dar al-Adab in Beirut; she was the first Tunisian woman to publish with this prestigious press.[2] She then published a short story collection entitled La taʿshiqī hādha al-rajul and her novel al-Kursī al-hazzāz in 2003.[1] She has won several prizes such as the Tunisian ministry of culture's prize for literary innovation in 1994 and the COMAR Special Prize (for "remarkable originality in a novel"[3]) for her novel Māystrū in 2006.[1]

Works

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Novels

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  • (1993) Nakhab al-hāyat (نخب الحياة (Toasts to life))
  • (2003) al-Kursī al-hazzāz (الكرسي الهزاز (The rocking chair))
  • (2007) Māystrū (مايسترو (Maestro))
  • (2013) Dukhan al-qasr (دخان القصر (Smoke of the palace))[4]

Short story collections

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  • (2003) La taʿshiqī hādha al-rajul (لا تعشقي هذا الرجل (Don't love this man))
  • (2004) li-al-Mārid wajha jamīl (للمارد وجه جميل (The monster has a pretty face))[5]
  • (2015) Ḥafal al-ʾashbāḥ (حفل الاشباح (Party of ghosts))[6]

Awards and honours

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  • (1988) Taher Hedad prize for short stories[1]
  • (1994) Ministry of Culture prize for creative literature (for her novel Toast to Life)[1]
  • (2006) COMAR Special Prize for Tunisian Novel (for Maestro)[7]
  • (2015) CTAM'ART Prize (2nd Place) for Culture and Creativity (for Party of ghosts)[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Mamelouk, Douja (2010). Redirecting al-nazar: contemporary Tunisian women novelists return the gaze. Doctoral dissertation, Georgetown University.
  2. ^ العياري, رمزي (2018-08-29). "سفراء الثقافة التونسية: آمال مختار تمثّل الأدب التونسي في أسبانيا" [Tunisian cultural ambassadors: Amel Mokhtar represents Tunisian literature in Spain]. الترا تونس Tunis Utra. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  3. ^ "Prix comar d'or Tunisie : Prix littéraire tunisien". comar-d-or.comar.tn. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. ^ "رواية "دخان القصر" لآمال مختار:عندما تثور الشخصيات ... وترضخ الكاتبة" [The novel "Palace Smoke" by Amal Mokhtar: When the characters revolt and the writer gives in]. تورس Turess. 2013-04-24. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  5. ^ "وللمارد وجه جميل .. الكتابة سبيلاً للشفاء" [The monster has a beautiful face: Writing as a way to heal]. صحفي Sahafi. 2007-08-03. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  6. ^ الجزيري, محمد الهادي (2015-05-25). "حفل الأشباح" [Party of ghosts] (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  7. ^ درغوث, نبيل (2006-05-07). "الكومار الذهبي في دورته العاشرة" [The tenth annual COMAR d'Or prize]. Diwan al-Arab. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  8. ^ Marzouk, Hamza (2014-11-17). "Ctam'Art : prix remis ce mardi". L'Economiste Maghrébin (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-08.