‘Dima Wannous’

Dima Wannous is one of today's most important young Arab writers and has lived in Europe since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria. Her work tells of her homeland and how daily life there is dominated by fear. Her novel The Frightened Ones describes how people fear the regime, the security services, their neighbours and ultimately fear itself. Describing this sentiment was a kind of therapy for Dima, a way of coming to terms with her memories of everyday life under a dictatorship.

Dima Wannous came to international attention when she was included in the anthology Beirut39 alongside other talented Arab writers aged under 40. She has written for a number of Arabic and international newspapers including The Washington Post. She currently lives and works in London. In 2008 she published her debut novel The Chair and her most recent novel The Frightened Ones (Al Kha’ifoun) has been translated into English, German, Dutch and other languages. The novel was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2018.