Ahmed Naji

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Ahmed Naji
Born	(1985-09-15) 15 September 1985 (age 39) Mansoura, Egypt
Occupation	Journalist
Language	Arabic, English
Notable awards	Dubai Press Club Award, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, Open Eye Award, The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation
Children	2
Website
ahmednaji.net

Ahmed Naji (born 15 September 1985) (Arabic: أحمد ناجي) is an Egyptian journalist and literary novelist. He was born in Mansoura. He has written numerous journalistic and critical articles and published three books: Rogers (2007), Seven Lessons Learned from Ahmed Makky (2009), and The Use of Life (2014). The latter book resulted in his being jailed in Egypt in 2016 for "violating public modesty," due to its sexual content and drug references, marking the first time in modern Egypt that an author has been jailed for a work of literature. The book since been translated by Ben Koerber. Naji was also a regular contributor to Al-Akhbar al-Adab and Al-Masry Al-Youm, among other publications.^[1]

He served almost 300 days in jail before being released, and later was granted the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award from PEN America. He moved to Washington, D.C., with his wife Yasmin Hosam El Din. He is currently serving his fellowship at Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his wife and their infant daughter.