The shortlisted writers are
- Azhar Alzinab for "The City of Mirrors" (Tunisia)
- Anis Al Rafei for "The Circus of Fantastic Animals" (Morocco)
- Dhia Jbaili for "The Tiger Who Pretended to be Borges" (Iraq)
- Mohammed Rafi for "In Praise of Creatures" (Egypt)
- Youssef Damra for "The Raven's Waltz" (Jordan)
The AlMultaqa Prize for Arabic Short Stories is the result of a partnership between the American University of Kuwait and a cultural circle headed by Kuwaiti writer Taleb Alrefai. Established in 2015, it promotes Arab creativity in literature and highlights new writers from the region through this award, which provides the winner with a $20,000 prize. For more information: https://bit.ly/3VJvQki