Diaa Jubaili

Diaa Jubaili (, (Ã¡Â¸ÂÃÂ«ya JubaylÃÂ«); born 23 May 1977) is an Iraqi novelist and writer from the city of Basra.

Biography

Diaa was born in Iraq in 1977 in the city of Basra, where he is permanently based. He became a writer and novelist in an environment which did not afford him a traditional education and also writes articles about life in Iraq. An extensive reading of Western literature is an influence on his work. In his fiction writing, he focuses on questions of identity in Iraq as well as the tension between religion and nationalism.

Diaa has won literary awards for his writing in Arabic. In 2017, he won the seventh annual Tayeb Salih International Award for Creative Writing for his novel What To Do Without Calvino?. His short story collection, No Windmills in Basra, won the 2018 Al Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story. The large prize purse of USD$20,000 is to encourage the short story genre in the Arab world.

Bibliography in Arabic

Diaa has released eight novels and three short story collections in Arabic.

Novels/Novellas

2007: Curse of the Marquis (ÃÂÃÂ¹ÃÂÃÂ© ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ±ÃÂÃÂÃÂ² LÃÂ¿anat MÃÂrkÃÂ«z)
2009: The Ugly Face of Vincent (novella) (ÃÂÃÂ¬ÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂ³ÃÂÃÂª ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ¨ÃÂÃÂ Wajh Finsint AlqabÃÂ«Ã¡Â¸Â¥)
2011: Bogeys, the Bizarre (novella) (ÃÂ¨ÃÂÃÂºÃÂÃÂ² ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ¹ÃÂ¬ÃÂÃÂ¨ BÃÂ«ÃÂ¡ÃÂ«z il-ÃÂ¿ajÃÂ«b)
2014: General Stanley Maude's Souvenir (ÃÂªÃÂ°ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ± ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ¬ÃÂÃÂ±ÃÂ§ÃÂ ÃÂ³ÃÂªÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂ¯ TaÃ¡Â¸ÂkÃÂr il-jinrÃÂl sitÃÂnlÃÂ« mawd)
2016: The Lion of Basra (ÃÂ£ÃÂ³ÃÂ¯ ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ¨ÃÂµÃÂ±ÃÂ© ÃÂ¾asad il-baÃ¡Â¹Â£ra)
2017: The Cloven Man: Six Ways of Crossing Borders Illegally on the Way to Baghdad (ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ´ÃÂ·ÃÂÃÂ±, ÃÂ³ÃÂª ÃÂ·ÃÂ±ÃÂ§ÃÂ¦ÃÂ ÃÂºÃÂÃÂ± ÃÂ´ÃÂ±ÃÂ¹ÃÂÃÂ© ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ¬ÃÂªÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ² ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ¯ÃÂÃÂ¯ ÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂ¨ÃÂºÃÂ¯ÃÂ§ÃÂ¯ Al-maÃÂ¡Ã¡Â¹ÂÃÂ«r, sittu Ã¡Â¹ÂarÃÂÃÂ¾iq ÃÂ¡ayr ÃÂ¡arÃÂ¿iyya liÃÂ¾itiyaz il-Ã¡Â¸Â¥udÃÂ«d naÃ¡Â¸Â¥u baÃÂ¡dÃÂd)
2018: Name Upon the Hollow, (ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ³ÃÂ ÃÂ¹ÃÂÃÂ ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ£ÃÂ®ÃÂÃÂµ Al-ÃÂ¾ism ÃÂ¿alÃÂ al-ÃÂ¾axmaÃ¡Â¹Â£)
2019: Horse Cannon (ÃÂ³ÃÂ§ÃÂ ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ±ÃÂ³ SÃÂq ul-faras)

Short story collections

2017: Widows' Garden, (ÃÂÃÂ¯ÃÂÃÂÃÂ© ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ£ÃÂ±ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ Ã¡Â¸Â¤adÃÂ«qat ul-ÃÂ¾arÃÂmil)
2017: What To Do Without Calvino?, (ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ°ÃÂ§ ÃÂÃÂÃÂ¹ÃÂ ÃÂ¨ÃÂ¯ÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ MÃÂÃ¡Â¸ÂÃÂ nafÃÂ¿alu bidÃÂ«n kÃÂlfÃÂ«nÃÂ«)
2018: No Windmills in Basra, (ÃÂÃÂ§ ÃÂ·ÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂÃÂ ÃÂÃÂÃÂ§ÃÂ¡ ÃÂÃÂ ÃÂ§ÃÂÃÂ¨ÃÂµÃÂ±ÃÂ© LÃÂ Ã¡Â¹ÂawÃÂÃ¡Â¸Â¥ÃÂ«n hawaÃÂ¾ fÃÂ«l-baÃ¡Â¹Â£ra)

Articles

2018 Sep 13, "Pollution and corruption are choking the life out of Basra", The Guardian
Diaa has other articles written in Arabic.

English translations

Awards and honours

2007: Dubai Magazine Award for Curse of the Marquis
2017: Tayeb Salih International Award for Creative Writing for the short story collection Widows' Garden, ()
2018: Al Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story for No Windmills in Basra, ()

In 2018, the short story collection No Windmills in Basra won the Al-Multaqa Prize for the Arabic short story. This is a description from the report of the Al-Multaqa Prize Jury: "The stories in Diaa Jubaili's collection vary in length from the very short to very long. They deal with the subjects of war by moving between reality and fantasy. With a sarcasm-laced narrative, he transforms the subject of war into a major introspective exercise on the significance of absurdity, nihilism, and a genuine desire to overcome the futility of death. The stories provide a reflection on the three wars of Iraq: the Iran-Iraq war, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 American invasion, which set off a wave of extremism that is choking the country to this day."