Samir El-Youssef (Arabic: سمير اليوسف) (born 1965)[1] is a Palestinian-British writer and critic, who was born in Rashidieh, a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, where he lived until he was ten, before moving to Sidon, Lebanon.[2] El-Youssef's father is a Sunni and his mother is from the only Shia Palestinian family.[2] He emigrated to Cyprus in 1989, and since 1990 has been living in London, where he studied philosophy and gained a Master of Arts degree from the University of London. In 2000, he was granted British citizenship.[2]

Samir El-Youssef
Awards
  • Kurt Tucholsky Prize (2005) Edit this on Wikidata

He writes in both Arabic and English, and some of his work has been translated into German, Italian, Greek and Norwegian. In 2004, he co-authored a book with Israeli author Etgar Keret, called Gaza Blues: Different Stories.[3]

His 2007 book The Illusion of Return is his first novel written in English. He is also an essayist with a wide range of interests including literature, politics, philosophy and cultural studies. His essays and reviews have appeared in Arabic periodicals and newspapers such as the London-based Al-Hayat, as well as on openDemocracy.net,[1] The Guardian's Comment is Free[4] and in the New Statesman.[5]

In 2005, the Swedish branch of the organisation International PEN granted El-Youssef the Tucholsky award, named after Kurt Tucholsky and given each year to a writer or publisher who is either being persecuted or threatened, or living in exile.[2][6][7][8]

Bibliography

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  • Samir El-Youssef and Etgar Keret: (2004) Gaza Blues: Different Stories, London: David Paul, ISBN 978-0-9540542-4-3
  • Samir El-Youssef (2007) The Illusion of Return, London: Halban, ISBN 978-1-905559-07-7
  • Samir El-Youssef (2008) A Treaty of Love, London: Halban, ISBN 978-1-905559-09-1

References

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  1. ^ a b "Samir El-youssef". openDemocracy. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Matthew J Reisz (19 January 2007). "Samir El-youssef: At home with the heretic". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. ^ Richard Allen Greene (4 June 2004). "Mid-East writers reach across divide". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Samir El-Youssef". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Samir El-Youssef". New Statesman. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Tucholsky Award 2005". European Writers' Congress. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 2 April 2009.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Exiled Palestinian writer wins award". Fox News. 27 April 2005. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Swedish PEN has granted the Tucholsky award 2005 to Samir El-youssef". English Pen. 28 April 2005. Archived from the original on 28 February 2006.