Khaled Khalifa

Khaled Khalifa is one of the few Syrian writers not to have left his homeland and to have continued writing, despite the perilous situation. His work often sparks controversy, not least in Syria where some of his books have been banned. Yet he remains internationally acclaimed as one of today's great writers. He was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and is winner of the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. He is known above all for his prizewinning novel No Knives in the Kitchens of This City: A Novel.