Amara Lakhous wins 2026 Rome Prize
Lakhous, a multilingual writer and author of six novels, received the Jesse Howard, Jr. Rome Prize in recognition of his work in modern Italian Studies.
Amara Lakhous, Professor in the Practice of Italian Studies, has been awarded a 2026 Rome Prize by the American Academy in Rome.
Lakhous, a multilingual writer, author, and former journalist, received the Jesse Howard, Jr. Rome Prize in recognition of his work in modern Italian Studies. He is the author of six novels, two of which were written in both Arabic and Italian, and his novels have been translated into ten languages.
The annual Rome Prize provides artists and scholars with “dedicated time, space, and a transdisciplinary community in which to advance their work within the city of Rome.”
“Coming from a wide range of disciplines and practices, the 2026-27 cohort is united by their commitment to intellectual generosity and to cross-disciplinary engagement,” said Peter N. Miller, President and CEO of the American Academy in Rome. “The Rome Prize is a bedrock of the Academy's mission to support the most compelling minds in the arts and humanities from across the United States.”
Lakhous’s latest novel in Arabic, Tir al-lil: The Fertility of Evil (originally The Night Bird, 2019), was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021; recently, he worked collaboratively with three other translators to translate the novel into English, Italian, and French.
This year’s Rome Prize winners were recognized at the Janet and Arthur Ross Rome Prize Ceremony on April 22 at the Cooper Union in New York City.