Miral el-Tahawi was born in Geziret Saoud in Sharkeya, Egypt.
In 1991 she earned her BA in Literature (Arabic Language Studies) at Zagazig University and is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Literature and Criticism, Cairo University.
She is working on her doctorate about The Desert novel in Arabic literature.
She participated with her various academic studies in numerous international conferences and published articles in magazines and cultural journals.
Her critical book gadaliat al-tamarud wal-ighterab fi al-nass al-qasassi, which is going to be published soon, was her thesis for the MA in 1995 at Zagazig University, Faculty of Literature.
Her works were discussed by numerous critics and artists in Egypt and other Arab countries as well as in several different languages, especially English, French and Spanish: Mahmood Amin al-Alem, Dr. Ezz El Din Ismail, Abdel Moneim Telema, Sayed al-Bahrawi and others.
In 2000 she won the country's encouragement prize for her novel al-bazengana al-zarkaa (The Blue Eggplant). Thus, she is the first female Egyptian novelist to win this prize. Her two novels are discussed in various universities and institutes across Egypt and Arab countries as well as in many Arabic language departments in many European and American universities. Her literary style is subject of several research papers (master thesis and doctorate degrees).
El-Tahawi has great interest in investigating the inter-relationship between the fields of anthropology , ethnograpby and the Desert Novel.
Among her various academic researches are:
- The Dialectic of Rebellion end Alienation in the short stories after Egypt Israel War 1967.
- A study in the interrelation between the autobiographical data and the novel aspect in Latifa El-Zayyat�s novels.
- an extended survey of the forms of Bedouin's Folklore, published in serial (Folklore Art Magazine)
- A study in mythical forms in the desert novel published by Alef magazine - AUC
- M.A in woman writings with special reference to Ghada El Seman
Among her books are
In 1995 her first story collection reem al-barari al-mustahila (Absurd Steppe Antelope) was published by the GEBO (General Egyptian Book Organization) as part of the serial kessas Arabeya (Arabic novellas).
In 1996 Publication of al-khabaa (The Tent) by Sharqiyat.
This was her first novel and was nominated as best novel in 1998.
Translations into English (1997), Spanish (1999) and German (2001). The translation into Italian, French and Greek is in process.
In 1998 her second novel al-bazengana al-zarka (The Blue Eggplant) was published by Sharqiyat.
In 2001 the Blue Aubergine was translated into English by Anthony Calderbank, who also translated al-khabaa (The Tent).
Al-Tahawy's latest work, "The Gazelles' Taps," tells the story of a woman named Muhra and a family that clings to past traditions amid a changing world.
