‘Habib Selmi’

The Tunisian author Habib Selmi is one of the few Tunisian authors who writes in Arabic. It is a conscious decision. Even though he speaks fluent French, he feels no affinity with French literature. Sobriety is the hallmark of Selmi’s work. He has published eight novels and two short story collections and is considered to be one Tunisia’s best contemporary writers. He has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction with ‘The Scents of Marie-Claire’ (2009) and ‘The Women of al-Basatin’ (2012). Selmi will be in conversation with the Belgo-Moroccan poet Taha Adnan and will also read from his most recent novel ‘Smile, you are in Tunisia!’ (2013)