A Lebanese author who wrote in French, and his works have been translated into many languages. He received the Prix Goncourt in 1993 for his novel Rock of Tanios. Maalouf’s novels are marked by his experiences of civil war and migration. Their characters are itinerant voyagers between lands, languages, and religions. Amin Maalouf website

The late Edward Said, born in Jerusalem of Christian Palestinian descent, was a Columbia professor and well-known literary and social critic, as well as a respected music reviewer, and wrote a column appearing in “The Nation.” Professor Said authored more than a dozen volumes on everything from the Middle East to English literature. Said earned an B.A., summa cum laude (1957) from Princeton University and an M.A. (1960) and a Ph.D. (1964) from Harvard University, where he was awarded the Bowdoin Prize.

Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian novelist who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. He is regarded as one of the first contemporary writers of Arabic literature, along with Tawfiq el-Hakim, to explore themes of existentialism.