Said Khatibi

Vilenica: Foreign Guests

Said Khatibi graduated from a University in Algeria and from the Sorbonne University in Paris. Writing in Arabic, he is the author of five novels translated into eight languages. Among his most acclaimed works are “Forty Years Waiting for Isabel”, “Sarajevo Firewood”, “The End of the Sahara” and “Swimming Against the Tide”.

He was awarded the Katara Prize for Best Arabic Novel in 2017, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in 2023, and the Arabic Booker Prize in 2026.A frequent guest lecturer and speaker, he has been invited to numerous universities: Sorbonne in Paris, Pau, Sofia, Belgrade, Cairo, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Notre Dame, and Tunis.

Alongside his literary career, he is a journalist and war correspondent who has reported from numerous conflict zones across Africa and, more recently, Ukraine. For the past several years, he has been living and working in Slovenia. He is also holding Slovenian nationality. He speaks in Arabic, French, English, and Slovenian.

Photo: Francesca Mantovani