Persa Koumoutsi

Persa Koumoutsi is an author and literary translator. She was born in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to Greece after completing her studies at the Faculty of Philosophy at Cairo University. Since 1993, she has been professionally involved in literary translation from Arabic and English. In addition to works by English-speaking authors, she has translated the majority of the works of Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz from Arabic, as well as works by other significant Arab creators. In 2001, she was honored with the International Cavafy Award for her body of translation work, and the Egyptian state has awarded her twice for her contributions to literature. She has received a Special Distinction from the Department of Greek and Latin Studies at Al Azhar University, and her works have been translated into Arabic. She has participated in international literary conferences, and her essays and prose have been published in newspapers and literary magazines in Greece and abroad. Since 2002, she has published six novels, always focusing on intercultural dialogue between the West and the East. Her books "In the Streets of Cairo" (2014), "West of the Nile" (2006), and "Alexandria on the Road of Strangers" (2002) are published by the National Book Organization of Egypt.