Jailed Palestinian writer Basim Khandaqji wins top Arab prize

Palestinian writer Basim Khandaqji, who has been in Israeli prisons since 2004, won the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Booker) for his 2023 novel A Mask, the Colour of the Sky.

“We are delighted to announce that the #ArabicFiction2024 winning novel is A Mask, the Colour



of the Sky by Basim Khandaqji,” International Prize for Arabic Fiction wrote on X.

The prize was accepted on Basim’s behalf by his brother Yousef, accompanied by publisher Rana Idriss of the Lebanon-based Dar al-Adab publishing house, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, April 28.