Personal Info
- Country of residence: Portugal
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Rula Khaled Mohammed Ghanem (born April 15, 1976) is a Palestinian novelist, writer, and academic. She was born and raised in the city of Tulkarm in Palestine. She won the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2025.
Her Biography
Rula Khaled Muhammad Ghanem was born in the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank on April 15, 1976. She received her education in schools in her city, including Seville School and Gamal Abdel Nasser School. Rula grew up in the old western neighborhood of Tulkarm, a neighborhood that had a significant impact on shaping her personality, which she described as: "The neighborhood that resisted the most and offered martyrs, which had a great impact on my psyche."
Rula obtained a Bachelor's degree in Arabic Literature from An-Najah National University. In October 2010, she received a Master's degree in Arabic Language and Literature from the same university for her thesis entitled "The Image of the Other (the Self) in Al-Mutanabbi's Poetry."
In September 2019, she received a PhD in Arabic Language and Literature, specializing in Literature and Criticism, with highest honors from Tanta University in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Her dissertation was entitled "Jerusalem in the Novels of the Jerusalemite Writer Jamil Al-Salhout."
She began her career as a university lecturer of Arabic at Al-Quds Open University in Tulkarm from 2010 to 2015. She then worked as a university lecturer at Palestine Technical University "Khadouri" in the same city from 2013 to 2021. She also taught at An-Najah National University from 2014 to 2016, and at Al-Rawda University College in 2022.
She is a member of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Authors and serves as the director of the Union's movement office in Tulkarm Governorate. She has participated in numerous literary and cultural events at the Arab and international levels.
Her Works
- The novel "Green Line" (2015).
- The novel "Feelings Outside the Law" (2016).
- The novel "No One Can Defeat Me but Myself" (2018).
- The novel "Heartbeats" (2022).
- The novel "A Hug on the Erez Checkpoint" (2024).
- The novel "A Sigh of Freedom" (2024).
Awards and Honors
She received several awards and honors, most notably:
- The Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction (2025): She received the prize in the category of published Arabic novels for her novel "A Sigh of Freedom." The award was presented to her on October 16, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. It is one of the most prominent literary prizes in the Arab world.
- Mutanabbi Shield: Awarded on the sidelines of her participation in the Baghdad International Fair in September 2024.
- Wasit International Short Film Festival: Received recognition at the festival in Iraq in June 2022.
- Creative Woman Award (2022): Received the award on April 16, 2022, in Gaza.
- World Gold Medal from the Arab Women Leaders Network: Received in November 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey, on the sidelines of her participation in the Women Leaders Summit Conference.
- "Ambassador of Glory" Honor: Honored by the World Association of Arab Translators with the title of "Ambassador of Glory."
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Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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