Nasser Iraq’s most recent novel, Al-A’atel (The Unemployed) will be celebrated at Diwan Bookstores on Sunday 8 January. The novel tackles the dilemmas of Egyptians travelling to work in the Gulf and the challenges they meet in a conflict of nationalities and identities. The book was longlisted for the 2012 Arabic Booker Prize. Iraq graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Cairo University in 1984 and contributed widely to cultural journalism. He is the publisher of a number of novels and books. The event will take place at 7pm on Sunday 8 January.