Mahmoud Shukair is a Palestinian author. He has been writing short stories since the mid-1960’s. Shukair was born in 1941 in Jerusalem and was raised there. He studied at Damascus University and has an M.A. in Philosophy and Sociology. He has published 45 volumes of works in prose, including nine collections of short stories, 13 books for children, a volume of folk tales, a biography of a city, and a travelogue. In addition, he has written six series for television, four plays, and countless newspaper and magazine articles, in print and online. For many years he worked as a teacher and a journalist; was editor-in-chief of Al-Talia’a (The Vanguard) weekly magazine in 1994-96, and editor-in-chief of Dafatir Thaqafiya (Cultural File) magazine in 1996-2000, while also holding the position as director of literature in the Palestinian Ministry of Culture. He was imprisoned twice by the Israeli authorities, lasting nearly two years, and in 1975 was deported to Lebanon. He lived in Beirut, Amman, and Prague before returning to Jerusalem in 1993, where he resides. His latest work, the novel Praise for the Women of the Family, has been shortlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
