Saudi novelist receives Naguib Mahfouz medal

Umaima Al-Khamis, a Saudi writer delivers a speech after receiving Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her novel at the American University (AUC) in Cairo, Egypt December 11, 2018. (REUTERS)

Umaima Al-Khamis, a Saudi writer receives Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her novel at the American University (AUC) in Cairo, Egypt December 11, 2018. (REUTERS)

• Al-Khamis, born in 1966 in Riyadh, studied Arabic literature at the King Saud University and was listed for the Arabic Booker Prize in 2010

JEDDAH: Saudi novelist Umaima Al-Khamis has received the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2018 for her latest novel “Masra Al-Gharaniq fi Mudub Al-Aqiq” (Voyage of the Cranes in the Cities of Agate).
The American University in Cairo Press (AUC) made the announcement on Wednesday. The awards are announced annually on the birth anniversary of the Egyptian Nobel laureate. Al-Khamis, born in 1966 in Riyadh, studied Arabic literature at the King Saud University and was listed for the Arabic Booker Prize in 2010.
In her acceptance speech, Al-Khamis paid tribute to Naguib Mahfouz and described him as a great writer who taught the “magic and craft of” storytelling.