Frankfurt files
In this issue of the Books Supplement, Al-Ahram Weekly announces the first instalment in a series of biographical and bibliographical information files dedicated to contemporary Arab authors. Compiled by Weekly staff, the series will provide the non Arabic-speaking reader with essential information on some of the Arab world's principal literary figures of the last century, bringing the picture up to date with profiles of new voices emerging on the Arab literary scene and reviews of their work. --read on--

Rainsong
By Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab

Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab
Youssef Rakha outlines the life course of a modern legend

Abdel Rahman Munif
bibliography

Arab citizen par excellence
Mona Anis reviews the life and career of a writer who had roots in half a dozen Arab countries and who belonged to the entire region

The novel: a homeland and a passion
In 1998, Abdel Rahman Munif was awarded the prize of the Cairo first International Conference on the Arab Novel. Below are excerpts from his acceptance address