The BA Congratulates Renowned Writer Mohamed Salmawy on Being Named “Cultural Personality of the Year” at Sharjah International Book Fair 2025
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Dr. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and the Library staff, congratulate the great writer and thinker Mohamed Salmawy on his selection as “Cultural Personality of the Year” at the Sharjah International Book Fair 2025, which kicks off on 4 November, in recognition of his long literary and intellectual career as well as his rich contributions to Arab theater, fiction, and cultural work.
Dr. Zayed stated that this selection is a well-deserved honor for a prominent Egyptian and Arab figure who has contributed to enriching cultural and intellectual life for decades, noting that, through his BA Board of Trustees membership, the great thinker Mohamed Salmawy’s ideas and generosity help the Library achieve its mission. He also said that this recognition reflects Egypt's cultural status and creative leadership in the Arab world.
Mohamed Salmawy is one of the most prominent literary voices in Egypt and the Arab world. With his prolific creativity and unique set of plays and novels, he has left a significant mark on contemporary Arabic literature. His works have been translated into several languages and his plays have been performed on state theaters in Egypt and international theaters in France, Italy, Germany, the United States, and Canada. His novels have received widespread attention from critics and readers for their human depth and intellectual vision, which reflect the reality of Arab people and their social transformations. Mr. Salmawy also held several positions in the Ministry of Culture, served as president of the Egyptian and Arab Writers Union for several years, and founded and edited the newspaper Al-Ahram Hebdo. It is to Mr. Salmawy's credit that the late great writer Naguib Mahfouz chose him to deliver a speech on his behalf at the Nobel Literature Prize ceremony.