Hisham Matar

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Hisham Matar
Born: 1970
New York, United States of America
Occupation: Novelist & Poet
Writing period: 2004-present
Genres: fiction
Debut works: In the Country of Men

Hisham Matar (born 1970) [1] is a Libyan British American author. His debut novel In the Country of Men was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize.[1].

Contents

[edit] Background

Hisham Matar was born in New York. He spent his childhood in America with his Libyan parents while his father was working for the Libyan delegation to the United Nations. When he was three years old, his family went back to Tripoli, Libya where he spent his early childhood. Due to political persecutions by the Gaddafi regime, in 1979 his father was accused of being a reactionary to the Libyan revolutionary regime and was forced to flee the country with his family, they lived in exile in Egypt, where Hisham and his brother completed their schooling in Cairo.[2][3] In 1986 he moved to London, United Kingdom, to continue his studies, where he got a degree in architecture. In 1990 while he was still in London his father, a political dissident was kidnapped in Cairo, and was reported missing ever since, but in 1996 the family received two letters with his father's handwriting stating that he was kidnapped by the Egyptian secret police and was handed over to the Libyan regime and was imprisoned in the notorious Abu-Salim prison in the heart of Tripoli. Since that date there was no more information about his father's wellbeing.

Hisham Matar began writing poetry, and experimented in theatre by enacting some plays, he began writing his first novel In the Country of Men in early 2000. In the autumn of 2005 the publishers Penguin International signed a two-book deal with him, and the novel was a huge success.

[edit] Awards and recognition

His first novel, In the Country of Men, was published in July 2006 and received accolades from such notable figures as J M Coetzee.[4] It went on to be shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.[5], and got shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award 2006.[6]

He is working on a second book, which will take place between Cairo and London. In the Country of Men was translated to 14 languages and is published in 17 countries.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Booker Prize Foundation (14 September 2006). The Man Booker Prize 2006 Shortlist. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  2. ^ Hisham Matar. Penguin UK. Retrieved on November 16, 2006.
  3. ^ Hisham Matar. The Guardian (29 June 2006). Retrieved on June 29, 2006.
  4. ^ In the Country of Men. The Independent. Retrieved on September 24, 2006.
  5. ^ The Man Booker Award. The Man & Booker groups. Retrieved on October 10, 2006.
  6. ^ The Guardian First Book Award. The Guardian. Retrieved on November 10, 2006.

[edit] External links


Man Booker Prize: Man Booker Prize for Fiction Winners
v • d • e
1960s 69: Newby
1970s 70: Rubens 71: Naipaul 72: Berger 73: Farrell 74: Gordimer, Middleton 75: Jhabvala 76: Storey 77: Scott 78: Murdoch 79: Fitzgerald
1980s 80: Golding 81: Rushdie 82: Keneally 83: Coetzee 84: Brookner 85: Hulme 86: Amis 87: Lively 88: Carey 89: Ishiguro
1990s 90: Byatt 91: Okri 92: Ondaatje, Unsworth 93: Doyle 94: Kelman 95: Barker 96: Swift 97: Roy 98: McEwan 99: Coetzee
2000s 00: Atwood 01: Carey 02: Martel 03: Pierre 04: Hollinghurst 05: Banville 06: Desai
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