
NAARCA Commission: Palestinian-Icelandic writer Mazen Maarouf
We are delighted to announce that the sixth NAARCA writing commission has been awarded to Mazen Maarouf.
Mazen Maarouf (1978) is a Palestinian-Icelandic writer, poet, translator, and journalist. Born in Beirut to a family of Palestinian refugees, Maarouf holds a maîtrise degree in Chemistry. He has published three collections of poetry: ‘The Camera Doesn’t Capture Birds’ (2004 and 2010), ‘Our Grief Resembles Bread’ (2000), and ‘An Angel Suspended On a Clothesline’ (2012), besides three short story collections: ‘Jokes for the Gunmen’ (1st edition 2016, 2nd edition 2017) and ‘Rats that Licked the Karate Champion’s Ears’ (1st and 2nd print 2017, 3rd print 2018), and ‘Sunshine on the Substitute Bench” (2022), besides “The Curse of Mudball kid” (2024). He was awarded and LiteraturLana prize for poetry in Italy (2015) and Al-Multaqa prize for best Arab short story collection for ‘Jokes for the Gunmen’ (2016). ‘Jokes for the Gunmen’ was longlisted for Man Booker International Prize 2019, longlisted for Edinburgh Book festival Award and shortlisted for Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize. He currently lives between Reykjavik and Beirut.