Abstract
With the media transition from the paper to the digital, Arab writers’ interaction on the social media and book-related videos have become a central strategy of promotion. Besides book trailers produced by the publishers and the readers, the international literary prizes produce their own videos. One of the most important examples is the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) which releases videos with English subtitles for the shortlisted authors every year. Moreover, some writers and journalists have started TV programs or YouTube channels recommending books and interviewing their fellow authors. Engaging with literary history, politics of translation, and media studies, this paper discusses the contribution of videos to the contemporary Arabic novel’s canonization: how do the videos make the canon and its mechanisms visible? Which image of the intellectual do they shape globally and locally? Which linguistic varieties do they adopt?
 This paper compares two kinds of videos to encompass the global and local scale, with their respective canonizing institutions and mechanisms. On the one hand, it examines how IPAF videos (2012-2019) promote a very recent canon of novels on the global scale through the representation of space, language, and the Arab intellectual. On the other hand, it looks at two book-related TV programs by the Egyptian writers Bilāl Faḍl and ʿUmar Ṭāhir, selecting three episodes (Faḍl 2011, Faḍl 2018, and Ṭāhir 2018) featuring or devoted to Aḥmad Khālid Tawfīq (1962-2018), a successful author of science-fiction and thrillers. Debating non-canonical writings, these TV programs contribute to redefine the national canon focusing on the reading practices and literary criticism.
 Keywords: Canon building, contemporary Arabic literature, literary prizes, IPAF, TV programs, Aḥmad Khālid Tawfīq
Highlights
The circulation of modern and contemporary Arabic literature has increased since the beginning of the 21st century thanks to the digital technologies and a wider Internet access
Arab writers, who are often active on the social media, feature in book trailers, book launches, and interviews posted on their own or their publisher’s accounts
This paper examines forty-eight International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) videos (20122019) to understand their communicative strategies in visually supporting the prize’s selection of a canon of contemporary Arabic novels, a canon that is still under construction
Summary
The circulation of modern and contemporary Arabic literature has increased since the beginning of the 21st century thanks to the digital technologies and a wider Internet access. In his study of popular literary genres, Jacquemond measures the current trends in the Egyptian book market with 4share downloads and Goodreads ratings (JACQUEMOND 2013 and 2016) Another big change in the contemporary Arabic literary field is the multiplication of international literary prizes (LYNX QUALEY 2017). Other regional prizes awarded during the book fairs contribute to placing Arab writers into the global book market To increase their international impact, they resort to digital communication, such as websites in Arabic and English, social media accounts, and live streaming of the awarding ceremonies. Unlike Ṭāhir’s recent program, ʿAṣīr alkutub (lit., the “juice” of the books, i.e., Essential readings) by the Egyptian Bilāl Faḍl reviews literature and non-fiction written both in Arabic and English. While IPAF videos visualize a canon under construction within world literature, these three episodes (ṬĀHIR 2018, FAḌL 2011 and 2018) exemplify the canonizing mechanisms in a field which has not been canonized yet in the Egyptian context but is established on the global scale
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
