Aya Sabi

Aya Sabi (b. 1995) lives in Flanders and studies Arabic and Islam Studies at KU Leuven. She is a columnist for De Morgen and in 2017 published the collection of stories ‘Verkruimeld Land’, published by Atlas Contact. In 2020, she was voted one of the literary talents of the year by NRC Handelsblad. In 2022, her debut novel ‘Half Leven’ was published by Das Mag. With ‘Half Leven’ she won the PrixFintro Publieksprijs 2023 and was shortlisted for the Confituur Boekhandelsprijs 2023, the Hebban Debuutprijs 2023 and the Opzij Literatuurprijs 2023. In 2023, she published the novella July, part of a series published by Das Mag. In April 2024 Aya Sabi won an Ultima for Emerging Talent and in May 2024 the Young Spring 2024. Babs Gons, laureate of the 2024 Golden Quill, chose Aya Sabi because she is “an important and much-needed voice, both within the arts and the social debate.” During her residency, she is working on the performative sequel to her debut novel ‘Half Leven’.