The Prayer of Anxiety by Mohamed Samir Nada (Masciliana) has won the 2025 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, honoring the best novel published in Arabic and sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, at the Department of Culture and Tourism--Abu Dhabi.
Organizers stated that "in the novel, storytelling is intertwined with symbolism in an unsettling narrative with multiple voices and layers. Depicting a transformative period in Egypt's history, the decade after the 1967 Naksa, the book is an interrogation of the commonly held narrative of the Naksa and subsequent Arab illusions of victory."
Chair of judges Mona Baker said that The Prayer of Anxiety "successfully transforms anxiety into an aesthetic and intellectual experience that resonates with the reader and awakens them to pressing existential questions. Mohamed Samir Nada blends polyphony and symbolism with captivating poetic language, making reading a sensory experience where revelation intersects with silence, and truth with illusion. In this novel, 'Nagaa al-Manasi' is more than just a village in Upper Egypt; it becomes a metaphor for societies besieged by fear and authoritarianism, giving the novel dimensions that transcend geography and touch upon universal human themes."
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The Griffin Trust has released a shortlist for the Griffin Poetry Prize, which aims "to raise the profile of poets and poetry in Canada, and internationally, for works written in, or translated into, English." The winner, who will be named June 4, receives C$130,000 (about US$98,810), while the other finalists will each be awarded C$10,000 (about US$7,215). The shortlisted Griffin titles are:
The Great Zoo by Aaron Coleman, translated from the Spanish written by Nicolás Guillén (The University of Chicago Press)
Kiss the Eyes of Peace by Brian Henry, translated from the Slovenian written by Tomaž Šalamun (Milkweed Editions)
Psyche Running by Karen Leeder, translated from the German written by Durs Grünbein (Seagull Books)
Scattered Snows, to the North by Carl Phillips (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss (Graywolf Press)
The Griffin Poetry Prize Readings, to be held in Toronto on June 4, will include readings by the 2025 shortlisted poets; the Lifetime Recognition Award recipient--to be announced on May 7--and the Canadian First Book Prize winner--to be announced on May 21. The event will also feature a recitation by one of the 2025 Finalists of Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie, a Canada-wide school recitation competition.