Alawiya Sobh (Arabic: علوية صبح) (born 1955) is a Lebanese writer and novelist.[1] She was born in Beirut and studied Arabic and English literature at the Lebanese University. Upon graduation in 1978, she pursued a career in teaching. She also started publishing articles and short stories, at first in An-Nida newspaper and then in An-Nahar. After a spell as cultural editor, she became editor-in-chief of Al-Hasnaa, a popular Arabic women's magazine, in 1986. In the 1990s, she launched her own women's magazine and runs it to this day.
Sobh has written a number of novels. Her debut novel Maryam al Hayaka (2002) was critically acclaimed. Dunya was published in 2006. A recent novel It's Called Love was longlisted for the Arabic Booker Prize in 2010.
For her literary accomplishments, Sobh has received the Sultan Qaboos prize. She has also served on the judging panel of the Beirut39 competition. Her work has been translated into various European languages, and has featured in Banipal magazine.[2]