Ashraf Aboul-Yazid is a novelist, poet, traveler, journalist, and author of literature for young readers as well as travel writing. He has worked in cultural journalism for more than three decades and was named Cultural Personality of the Year in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation (2012). He received the Manhae Grand Prize in Literature in 2014 (South Korea), won the Arab Journalism Award for Culture in 2015 (United Arab Emirates), and was awarded the Gold Medal at the Eurasian Literary Festival in Istanbul (2021).
He currently serves as Secretary-General of the Congress of African Journalists (CAJ), is a member of the Egyptian Writers’ Union, editor-in-chief of the Silk Road Literature Series and Silk Road Today platform, and coordinator of the World Poetry Movement (WPM) in Egypt. He was President of the Asia Journalists’ Association (2016–2024) and editor-in-chief of the Arabic edition of AsiaN (Asia News Network), 2012–2024.
Aboul-Yazid has authored and translated 44 books spanning fiction, poetry, travel literature, biography, translation, and children’s literature. His works have been translated into English, German, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, Persian, Sindhi, Serbian, Russian, Azerbaijani, and Malayalam (Kerala, India).
He began his journalistic career while still in secondary school at Al-Qalyubia, a semi-monthly newspaper then edited by journalists Mohamed Zaazaa and Mohamed Al-Attar. He later joined the editorial team of Al-Manar, a monthly cultural magazine under the editorship of Dr. Amir Iskandar, as an editor and translator. Afterward, he moved to Saudi Arabia to teach English (1991), then to Oman as a translator, editor, and art director for Nizwa magazine (1992). Returning briefly to Egypt, he worked as a cultural editor for Reuters News Agency in Cairo (2000), and as managing editor of Adab wa Naqd magazine (2001), before joining Al-Arabi magazine in Kuwait as senior editor (2002–2016).
Following his tenure at Al-Arabi, he moved to South Korea where he was elected President of the Asia Journalists’ Association and became responsible for the Arabic section of its online platform (AsiaN) and print magazine (Magazine N).
During his years at Al-Arabi, Aboul-Yazid also created, presented, and directed his own cultural television program titled “The Other”, aired on Al-Arabi TV in Kuwait. The first season was broadcast daily during Ramadan, while the second season aired on Kuwait’s First Channel. The program featured leading intellectuals, writers, artists, media figures, and diplomats, primarily from beyond the Arab world or from those building bridges across cultures. His choice of title reflected his vision of dialogue as a means of discovery and cultural exchange.
His creative roots—nourished by reading and writing, painting and travel—shaped his multidimensional literary career. Aboul-Yazid’s earliest award came in 1989, when one of his vernacular poems was selected among the top ten entries in a British Council poetry competition in Cairo. Later, he was honored in Bisceglie, Italy, for his poetry at the Mediterranean Peoples Festival (2004). Dubai Cultural Magazine honored him twice, as both poet and journalist (2009 and 2013). Tatarstan recognized him twice: first by naming him Cultural Personality of the Year (2012), and later through the Writers’ Union for his translations of Abdullah Tukay’s works (2013). Other distinctions include the Naguib Mahfouz Shield for Creativity from the Egyptian Embassy in Kuwait (2014), the Arab Media Forum Award in Kuwait (2015), the Patron of Culture Medal from the African Writers’ Union in Ibadan, Nigeria (2022), the Ambassador of Culture Medal and Sultan Baybars Medal from the Commonwealth Cultural Foundation, Kazakhstan (2023 and 2024), and the World Writers’ Organization Medal in Abuja, Nigeria, for his contributions to translation (2024).
He was also awarded the Sawiris Prize for Children’s Literature in Cairo (2023) for his novel My Cat Writes a Book, granted honorary membership by the Egyptian-Korean Development Association in Seoul (2024), and was named Africa’s Poet of the Year at the Silk Road International Forum in Dubai (2025).
Works of Ashraf Aboul-Yazid
Novels
• Shamawes, Ain Publishing House, Cairo, 2008
• Backyard Garden, Mashariq Publishing & Distribution, Cairo, 2011
• 31, Mashariq Publishing & Distribution, Cairo, 2011
• Al-Turjuman (The Interpreter), Bettana, Cairo, 2017
Poetry Collections
• Whisper of the Sea, Private Edition, Cairo, 1989
• Shells, Private Edition, Cairo, 1996
• Memory of Silence, Al-Jadeed, Beirut, 2000
• On the Path of Death, Kaf Noon, Cairo, 2001
• Memory of Butterflies, Gharib Library, Cairo, 2005
• Poems, Silk Road Literature Series, Al-Nasher Publishing, Cairo, 2024
Travel Literature
• Biography of a Traveler, Heaven Publishing, Cairo, 2008
• A River on a Journey, Kitab Al-Arabi Series, Kuwait, 2015
• Caravan of Moroccan Tales, Al-Mutawassit Publications, Milan / Rihlat Al-Afaq, Abu Dhabi, 2017
• Damascene Days, Khutut wa Zilal Publishing, Amman, 2021
Translations (from English into Arabic)
• Me and Surrealism: The Secret Confessions of Salvador Dalí, Dubai Cultural Book Series, Dubai, July 2010
• Ten Thousand Lives, by Korean poet Ko Un, Dubai Cultural Book Series, Dubai, 2012
• The Far Off Saint, by Korean poet Cho Oh-Hyun, Al-Ghasham Publishing & Translation, Muscat, Oman, 2013
• A Depressingly Monotonous Landscape, by Indian poet Hemant Divate, Silk Road Literature Series, Mashariq Publishing, Cairo, 2016
• Riding a Cloud to Search for You, by Korean poet Manhae, Silk Road Literature Series, Mashariq Publishing, Cairo, 2019
• The Grace of Stem Cells, by Dr. Jeong Chan Ra, Bettana, Cairo, 2019
• Four Poets on the Silk Road, by Konstantin Kedrov, Margarita Al, Sergei Biryukov, and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, Cairo, 2022
• Four Hakka Poets from Taiwan, by Wu Chin-Fa, Chang Fang-Tzu, Tu Pan-Fang-Chi, and Tseng Kuei-Hai, Silk Road Literature Series, Al-Nasher Publishing, Cairo, 2023
• They are the Daughters of Siraya, by Miao-Yi Tu, Silk Road Literature Series, Al-Nasher Publishing, Cairo, 2023
• The Sixth Floor and Other Stories (Stories from Azerbaijan), by Meykhosh Abdullah, Silk Road Literature Series, Al-Nasher Publishing, Cairo, 2024
Children’s Literature
• Children from My Arab Homeland (poetry), Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, No. 170, Kuwait, November 2006
• The Story of a 5000-Year-Old Artist (History of Egyptian Art), National Center for Child Culture, Supreme Council of Culture, Cairo, 2006
• Korean Tales (translated folktales), Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, No. 188, Kuwait, May 2008
• Arab Travelers (biographies of travelers), Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, No. 196, Kuwait, January 2009
• Shurali: The Tale of the Woodcutter and the Wicked Spirit of the Forest, translated epic by Tatar poet Abdullah Tukay, Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, No. 210, Kuwait, March 2010
• An Underwater Postman (a poetic story), Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, No. 218, Kuwait, November 2010
• The Goat and the Lamb, translated epic by Abdullah Tukay, Al-Arabi Al-Saghir Book Series, Kuwait, 2013
• My Cat Writes a Book, Shagara Publishing, Cairo, 2020
o Nominated for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Young Adult Literature), 2020
o Winner of the Sawiris Prize for Children’s Literature, 2023
• My Father is a Mapmaker, Young Adult Fiction, Bayt Al-Hikma, Cairo, 2025
Studies and Biographies
• Biography of Color: Studies in Contemporary Fine Art, Egyptian General Book Authority, Cairo, 2003
• Memoirs of a Traveler: Sheikh al-Azhar Mustafa Abdel-Razek’s Journey to Europe (Critical Edition), Rihlat Al-Afaq Series, Abu Dhabi, 2008
• Sheikh Mustafa Abdel-Razek Traveling and Residing (Critical Edition), Ain Publishing, Cairo, 2009
• Youth’s Folly (Critical Edition of Al-Shabab newspaper by Bayram al-Tunsi), Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, 2008
• The Silk Road: An Illustrated Cultural Encyclopedia, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, 2013
• Women’s Noon… The River of Art (Biographies), Hilal Book Series, 2013
• Naguib Mahfouz: The Narrator and the Painter, Egyptian General Book Authority, Cairo, 2018 (Translated into English and Serbian)
Professional Career
• Member, Egyptian Writers’ Union
• Vice-President, African Writers’ Union, representing North Africa (2025)
• Secretary-General, Congress of African Journalists (since 2024)
• Editor-in-Chief, Silk Road Literature Series, Cairo (since 2016)
• President, Asia Journalists’ Association, South Korea (2016–2024)
• Editor-in-Chief, AsiaN Arabic (2012–2024)
• Senior Editor, Al-Arabi magazine (2002–2016)
• Cultural Correspondent, Reuters News Agency, Cairo (2001–2002)
• Managing Editor and Art Director, Adab wa Naqd magazine, Cairo (2001–2002)
• Managing Editor and Art Director, Nizwa magazine, Muscat (1998–2001)
• Editor & Translator, Arab Agency, Muscat (1992–1998)
• Editor & Translator, Al-Manar magazine, Cairo (1990–1991)
Awards and Honors
• Cultural Personality of the Year, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, 2012
• Manhae Prize in Literature (South Korea), 2014
• Arab Journalism Award in Culture (UAE), 2015
• Naguib Mahfouz Creativity Shield, Egyptian Embassy, Kuwait, 2015
• Jury Member, Costa Rica International Song Festival, 2018
• Jury Member, Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, Republic of Tatarstan, 2021
• Coordinator, World Poetry Movement (Egypt), 2021
• Medal of Popular Culture, Egypt, 2021
• Gold Medal, Eurasian Literary Festival, Istanbul, 2021
• Medal of Best Patrons of Literature, African Writers’ Union, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2022
• Gold Medal, International Elite of People’s Diplomacy, Kazakhstan, 2023
• Sawiris Prize for Children’s Literature (My Cat Writes a Book), Cairo, 2023
• Poet of the Year (Africa), Silk Road International Forum, Dubai, 2025
(PREPARED BY MARIA TERESA LIUZZO FROM ITALY)
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