Azher Jirjees

Azher Jirjees is an Iraqi novelist who has worked as a journalist in Iraq since 2003. He is the author of four novels, Wadi al-farashat [Butterfly Valley] (Beirut: Al-Rafidayn, 2024 and Tunis: Meskiliani Publishing), Al-Nawm fi haql al-karaz [Sleeping in the Strawberry Field] (Beirut: Al-Rafidayn, 2019) long-listed for the 2020 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF, and Hajar al-sa‘āda [The Stone of Happiness] (Beirut: Al-Rafidayn, 2022), which made the 2023 IPAF shortlist.The publication of his satirical book, Al-Jahīm al-ardhī [Hell on Earth] (Baghdad: Warda Publishing, 2005) subjected him to an assassination attempt by extremist groups that forced him to flee Iraq. From Damascus he went to Casablanca before arriving at his final refuge in Norway, where he currently resides and works as a freelance translator.