The author’s novel “A Certain Woman” was featured as AWB book of the month in March 2003 and her novel “Rain Over Baghdad” is our choice for March 2021.
She is also our guest on the fourth episode of our series: A writer , a vision, a journey, in March 2021.
Hala El-Badry is an acclaimed Egyptian novelist, short story writer, critic and journalist born in Cairo in 1954. She was the first woman elected to the board of Radio and Television Magazine and is president of PEN International, Egypt Branch. She received the State Excellence award in Literature in 2012 and the best novel award at the Cairo International Book Fair in 2001 for her novel “A Certain Woman”, and again in 2018 for her novel “Cities of the Walls”.
She holds a diploma in Journalism, Faculty of Media, 1988 and has a Bachelor of Arts in Commerce, Cairo University, 1975. She was Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Editor-in-Chief of Egyptian Radio and Television Magazine. From 1975 to 1980 she was Bagdad correspondent for the Egyptian Rose Al-Youssef Magazine.
El-Badry has given lectures on her work in many international universities including the University of Chicago, Wayne State University, Michigan University, Cairo University, Ain shams University and the University of Algeria.
In 1988, Youssef Idriss presented her first novel “Al-Sebaha fi Qomqom, (Swimming in a Bottle)” which was received with great enthusiasm. She followed that with two more novels, “Muntaha” in 1995 and “Layssa al-ane (Not Now)” in 1998. During that period, she also published two short story collections “Raqsat al-chams wal gheim (The Sun and Cloud Dance)” in 1989 and “Agnehat al-hossane (The Horse Wings)” in 1992. She went on to publish several acclaimed novels and short story collections, most recent of which are “The Cities of the Walls” in 2017 and “Women in my Home” in 2019 both published by al-Dar al-Masriya al-Lubnaniya.
Many of Hala El-Badry stories have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Serbian, Greek, Azerbaijani and Russian, and several of her novels were published in different languages.
“A Certain Woman” was published in English by the American University Press in Cairo in 2003 with a second edition in 2004 and a third edition published by Arabia books in London in 2005. Her novel “Muntaha” was published in English in 2005 by the American University Press followed by her novel “Rain over Baghdad” in 2014.
Membership and Activities
- Guest of Honor, Algerian Book Fair, 2002
- President, Cairo Branch, PEN International
- Member Committee on the Story, Supreme Council of Culture
- Former member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Writers Union
- Jury member for several literary awards
- Member of many international conferences
- National swimming champion for several years, represented Egypt in several international tournaments
Publications
Fiction
Swimming in a bottle, Dar Al-Ghad, 1988 first edition, second edition 2003 The Egyptian General Book Organization- Family Library series.
The Sun and Cloud Dance, Short stories, Dar al-Ghad, Cairo 1989 first edition, second edition the Egyptian General Book Organization 2004.
Horse wings, Short stories, the Egyptian General Book Authority 1992 - Chapters Selections Series, first edition. Second edition 2000, Family Library series.
Muntaha, a novel published in 1995, is set in the fictional village of Muntaha in the Nile Delta.
Not now, a novel, 1998, The Egyptian General Book Authority, first edition, and a second edition Family Library series in 2001.
A Certain Woman, in English translation, American University in Cairo Press, 2003; second edition 2004, third edition, Arabia Books, London, 2005. A Certain Woman was named best novel of 2001 at the Cairo International Book Fair and was featured as arabworldbooks.com book of the month in March 2003.
Muntaha, in English translation, American University in Cairo Press, 2005. Second edition, 2007. In Greek translation in 2010
Rain on Baghdad, a novel, first edition 2010 issued by Dar Al-Mada, Damascus. Second edition, Egyptian General Book Authority 2013. English translation, American University in Cairo Press, 2015
Qasr al-Namla [The Ant's Palace], short stories, General Egyptian Book Organization, 2007.
Cities of the Walls, Egyptian Lebanese House, 2017
Women in my Home, Egyptian Lebanese House 2019
Non Fiction
Stories from Al-Khalisa, Rose Al-Youssef office in Baghdad, in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Information. 1976.
The Farmer of Egypt in the Land of Iraq, Iraqi Peasants Union, 1980.
The two books are about the experience of Egyptian farmers in owning land in an Iraqi village
Iraqi Women, Iraqi Women’s Union, 1980.
Forty novels and novels, Today’s Book Series, Akhbar Al-Youm, 2012.
Ghiwayat al-Haky (The temptation of telling), Part One, Egyptian General Book Authority, 2009.
The magic of places (travel), Egyptian General Book Authority, 2018.
The story and poem, Al-Hilal Book, Dar Al-Hilal, 2018.
Radio drama, Dar Al Maaref 2018.
In the countries of the Americans (travel), Dar Al-Maarif, 2019
Ghiwayat al-Haky (The temptation of telling) Part Two, The Egyptian General Book Authority, 2020.
To be published soon
A Folding Pain, a novel
Reading the Revolution Papers, on the 25 January revolution.
Awards
The Egyptian State Prize for Excellence in Literature, 2012.
Cities of the Wall, won the Best Novel award from the 2018 Cairo International Book Fair
Honored by the Gender Union and the Supreme Council of Culture in the October celebrations, 2013.
Best Novelist, Cairo International Book Fair, 2001
Credits
- The first woman chairman and editor-in-chief of an Egyptian magazine, after Amina Al-Saeed
- The University of Michigan studied its articles reading in the revolution papers and literary works in the Arab Writer Program from 2011-2012
- The University of Chicago studied her novel Matar Ali Baghdad at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies 2011-2012 academic year
-Academic criticism celebrated it in several letters to masters and doctorates, including:
-The Feminist Ego is a comparative study of Hala Al-Badry and Wangpur Bachmann in German by the researcher Amira Saad
- The structure of the narrative discourse in the literature of Hala Al-Badry, a master's degree by researcher Mahmoud Samak from Benha University 2018
-The structure of the discourse in the novels of Hala Al-Badry, a master's degree by researcher Fatima Mahmoud, Minya University
-Contemporary Arabic Literature (in English) by the American-Iranian researcher and critic Muhammad Siddiqui
-The Aesthetics of Feminist Fiction in Egypt, Master’s Thesis, Faculty of Arts, Helwan University, Abdel Khaleq Qasim Khalaf, Political Vision in Feminist Fiction in Egypt from the year 75-2000 in 20111 Abd al-Khaliq Qasim Khalaf.
-The book The Search for Freedom Articles in Literature and Life d. Rashid Anani.
-Generation of the seventies in the Egyptian novel Problems of reality and the aesthetics of narration d. Yousry Abdullah (PhD from Cairo University).
- Other literary studies that were published in books for both professors and doctors: Latifa Al-Zayat, Abdel Moneim Talimah, Ibrahim Fathy, Muhammad Abdul-Muttalib, Edwar Al-Khayyat, Farouk Abdel Qader, Farida Al-Naqq, Salah Fadl,Faisal Daraj, Muhammad Hafez Diab, Abdullah Abu Haif, Abdel Aziz Mowafi, Magdy Tawfiq, Rashid Al-Anani, Sayed Al-Bahrawi, Salah Al-Sarawi, Hassan Sarmak, Etidal Othman, Abdel Fattah Al-Hajjari, Sabri Muslim, Khairy Shalaby, Hussein Hammouda, Mustafa Al-Dabaa, Sami Suleiman, Yusra Abdullah, Hussam Akl, Abeer Salama, Ali Momeni, Fathi Embababi, Amani Fouad, Mona Tolba, Sadiq Al-Taie, Samiha Khreis, Charbel Dagher, Shaaban Youssef, Haitham Al-Haj Ali, Azza Mazen, Osama Abu Talib, Muhammad Salim Shusha, and others
- Her work has appeared in many Arab magazines and newspapers, including Al-Safir, Al-Quds, the Arabian Gulf, and the family and forum.
