Biography:

Najiba al-`Assal (1921-1992), (نجيبة العسال) Egyptian novelist. With Ihsan Kamal and Huda Jad, she founded a weekly literary salon for young writers at Dar al-Udaba' in 1969. She was a member of the Committee for Cultural Integration in the Authors' Association and a member of the Artists' Association.

She had two radio programs, "Yawmiyat J adda" (Diaries of a Grandmother) and "Li-l-kibar wa-Isighar" (For Young and Old). Her novel, Bayt al-ta'a, received a prize from the Story Club and the al-Qabbani Prize.

(From Arab Women Writers A Critical reference Guide by Radwa Ashour & Feryal Ghazoul)

Publications: (Arabic)

• Bayt al-ta'a (House of Obedience, novel). Cairo: Rose al-Yusuf Foundation, 1962.
• al-Gha'iba (The Absent One, short stories). Cairo: al-Dar al-Qawmiya Printing and Publishing, 1962.
• al-A'maq al-ba'ida (The Distant Depths, novel). Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 1964.
• al-Hasa wa-I-jabal (The Pebble and the Mountain, novel). Cairo: al-Dar alQawmiya Printing and Publishing, 1966.
• Satr maghlut (A Mistake in the Knitting, short-story anthology), co-edited with Huda Jad. Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1971.
• Kull hadha li-annaha Hawwa' (All of This Because She Is Eve, short stories). Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1981.
• al-Yamama al-hakima (The Wise Dove, children's literature). Cairo: al-Sha'b Publications, 1982.
• Taj al-dhahab (The Golden Crown, children's literature). Cairo: Dar alHilal, 1985.
• Wa tarakat hams al-sukun (And She Left the Whisper of Silence, short stories). Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 1985.
• al-Kura bi-titkallim (The Ball Speaks, children's literature). Cairo: Dar alHilal, 1987.
• al-Amir wa-l-liss (The Prince and the Thief, children's literature). Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 1988.
• al-Tha 'lab al-makkar wa-l-dhi'b al-maghrur (The Sly Fox and the Vain Wolf, children's literature). Cairo: Dar alHilal, 1989.
• al-Ha'it al-rabi' (The Fourth Wall, novel). Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1990.
• al-Tha'lab fat (The Fox Went By, children's literature). Cairo: Dar al-Hilal, 1990.