Najwa Barakat

An acclaimed Lebanese novelist, journalist, and cultural mentor, Najwa Barakat is recognized as one of the most innovative and uncompromising voices in contemporary Arabic fiction. Born in Beirut, she studied theater before moving to Paris to pursue film scriptwriting and literature at the Sorbonne. She is the founder of the influential “Mohtaraf” creative writing workshop program, which has mentored and launched dozens of award-winning emerging Arab writers across the region. Barakat is the author of seven celebrated novels-including Ya Salam!, The Bus Conductor, The Master of the Citadel, Mr. N, and Mai’s Absence (shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2026). Known for her dark psychological realism, existential precision, and surgical dissection of societal trauma, her works have been translated into French, English, Italian, and Spanish.