Bothayna El Essa

Bothayna El Essa
بثينة العيسى
Born (1982-09-03) September 3, 1982 (age 42)
NationalityKuwait
Alma materKuwait University
Occupation(s)Writer, publisher
Notable workThe Book Censor’s Library

Bothayna El Essa (Arabic: بثينة العيسى) is a novelist from Kuwait. A well-known author in modern Arabic literature, her novel The Book Censor's Library was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction in their category for translated literature.

Career

As of 2022, El Essa had published twelve novels in her native Arabic.[1] She won the State Encouragement Award for her 2005 novel Saear. Further, she won the first place in the Youth and Sports Authority competition in 2003 in the short story section. Also, she ranked third in the Sheikha Basimah Al-Sabah competition in the short story section. In 2006 she won third place in the Al-Sada magazine competition for creative people in 2006.[2] She is also the owner of a publishing house, a bookseller and has taught workshops for creative writing.[3][4][5]

El Essa is a member of the Kuwaiti Writers Association as well as the Arab Internet Writers Union.[6] In addition, she has campaigned against censorship in Kuwait until it was abolished in 2020.[7][8]

In 2021, her novel The Book Censor’s Library won the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity.[9] In 2024, this dystopian novel, translated by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain, was longlisted for the National Book Award for Translated Literature.[10]

Works in English translation

  • All that I want to forget. Translated by Michele Henjum. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2019, ISBN 978 977 416 908 3.[11]
  • Lost in Mecca: A Novel. Translated by Nada Faris. Reading, UK: Dar Arab, 2024, ISBN 9781788710930.[12]
  • The Book Censor’s Library. Translated by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain. Amherst: Restless Books, 2024, ISBN 978-1632063342.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Chat with Bothayna Al-Essa from Kuwait". www.oyetimes.com. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. ^ "بثينة العيسى". جائزة كتارا للرواية العربية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  3. ^ "takween". 2019-10-01. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  4. ^ Al-Essa, Bothayna. "Bothayna Al-Essa". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  5. ^ Al-Essa, Bothayna (2024-04-03). "Little Cash, Lots of Censorship: Bothayna Al-Essa on Opening a Bookstore in Kuwait". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  6. ^ الاتحاد, صحيفة (2019-03-02). "جلسة ناقشت روايتها "كل الأشياء".. بثينة العيسى: الوطن ليس جغرافيا". صحيفة الاتحاد (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  7. ^ "Kuwait eases censorship laws after banning 5000 titles in last 7 years". The Indian Express. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  8. ^ Qualey, Marcia Lynx (22 November 2016). "'It's like they were selling heroin to schoolkids': censorship hits booksellers at Kuwait book fair". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Bothayna Al-Essa". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  10. ^ "3 of 10 from Arabic on Longlist for National Book Award for Translated Literature". ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY. 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  11. ^ Al-Essa, Bothayna (2019). "All That I Want to Forget" (PDF). www.oyetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  12. ^ "'Lost and Found in Maps of Wandering': A Review of Bothayna Al-Essa's Lost in Mecca - Asymptote Blog". Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  13. ^ THE BOOK CENSOR'S LIBRARY | Kirkus Reviews.