The Egyptian author and political activist, Alaa el-Aswani, awarded 'Tiziano Terzani literary' prize for his book 'Did the Egyptian Revolution Go Wrong?' which was released in 2011 and translated into Italian by the famous Italian writer and journalist Paola Caridi. The book was published in Italy by Feltrinelli publishing house. The judging panel said that El-Aswani earned the award because he was able to give readers who are not experts in Egyptian affairs exactly what they want to know about Egypt's oppression, torture, police state, daily injustice and also the experience of a painful migration to search for better material conditions and a life free of abuse and humiliation. Al Aswany originally trained as a dentist, and still has his own practice in Cairo. He worked for many years in the novel 'Yacoubian Building', which considered as his bestselling novel. The Yacoubian Building was longlisted for The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2006, has sold over one million copies worldwide, and was the bestselling novel in the Arab world for over five years.
