Libyan writer.

Also spelled Ibrāhīm Kūnī, Ibrahim AL-KONI is a writer.

Born in Libya in 1948, Ibrahim al-Koni grew up in a Tuareg tribe, in the desert, within landscapes that inspired him throughout his life. He learns Arabic at 12, before later studying literature and journalism in Moscow. Author of numerous books, his very first novel to be translated into French, "Poussière d'or", was published by Gallimard in 1993. He has already received several awards, including the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and, in 2015, he was one of the writers selected for the Man Booker Prize.

Born in 1948 in the Fezzan Region, Ibrahim al-Koni was brought up on the tradition of the Tuareg, popularly known as "the veiled men" or "the blue men." Mythological elements, spiritual quest and existential questions mingle in the writings of al-Koni who has been hailed as magical realist, Sufi fabulist and poetic novelist. He spent his childhood in the desert and learned to read and write Arabic when he was twelve. Al-Koni studied comparative literature at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow and then worked as a journalist in Moscow and Warsaw.
Al-Koni had published more than 80 books and received numerous awards. All written in Arabic, his books have been translated into 35 languages. His novel "Gold Dust" appeared in English in 2008.
In 2008, he won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Abu Dhabi, UAE), one of the Arab World's most prestigious and well-funded prizes

The writer permeates the film RESSACS, A TUAREG STORY, feature documentary directed by Intagrist el Ansari, Tuareg filmmaker from Mali (2024).



Fuente / Fontes / Our Source / Quelle / Nos Sources (MAIS INFORMAÇÕES / READ MORE / PLUS D'INFOS) :
► Africiné Magazine (Dakar)
► https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Al-Koni
► www.cambourakis.com/tout/litterature/%D8%A3%D8%AF%D8%A8/le-saignement-de-la-pierre/
► www.editionsphebus.fr/auteur/ibrahim-al-koni/
► www.zayedaward.ae/en/previous.editions/winners/dr.ibrahim.al.kawni.aspx?year=2008
Updated by Thierno DIA, 23 June 2025