The Moroccan writer, Yasmine Chami, awarded by the Arab World Institute

The Moroccan writer, Yasmine Chami, received on Wednesday night at the headquarters of the Arab World Institute (AWI) in Paris the jury's special mention for her novel «Mourir est un enchantement».

Yasmine Chami, a literature teacher in Casablanca and the former director of the Villa des arts, was awarded the prestigious jury prize, presented annually by the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation in partnership with the AWI.

Yasmine’s work narrates how individual and collective memories are connected, the writer said in a statement to MAP news agency.

The Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation, which was created in 2013, is the only institute that awards Arabic literary works and promotes those written or translated to French. It also aims at encouraging young talented writers in France and abroad by developing a number of programs dedicated to the promotion of cultural diversity.

This year's jury, chaired by Pierre Leroy, co-managing director of the Lagardère Foundation, is composed of eminent personalities operating in the fields of media, arts and culture as well as specialists from the Arab world. In addition, the Moroccan writer and painter Mahi Binbine, winner of this prize in 2010 was also a member of the jury.

Novelist Sinan Antoon and translator Leyla Mansour have won the 2017 Prix de la Littérature Arabe for the French translation of Antoon’s novel The Corpse Washer.