The Florida Center for the Literary Arts and Miami Dade Public Library System launch a new phase of the Big Read with the selection of Nobel Prize Laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs. The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest.

The Center is one of only four U.S. organizations selected to promote the Big Read Egypt/U.S., a global cultural exchange program undertaken by the U.S. Department of State and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz

From October through November 2008, the Center invites everyone to read Naguib Mahfouz’s The Thief and the Dogs.

About The Thief and the Dogs
Written in 1961, The Thief and the Dogs is the story of Said Mahran, a thief recently released from jail and intent on having his vengeance on the people who put him there. The book, set in a post-revolutionary Egypt, shows how resentment, reprisal and destitution can shape and shatter human destiny.

About Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz is the best-known and most widely respected 20th century writer in Egypt, if not the entire Arab world. His novels, set in 20th century Egypt, delve into cultural and political issues such as the position of women in Egyptian society and the treatment of political prisoners. In 1988, he became the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He died in 2006.

Event Highlights:
In October and November, The Big Read campaign will launch a series of events to explore Egyptian literature and showcase the riches of Egypt’s cultural heritage, including a film series in association with Miami International Film Festival, screening classics such as:

• Umm Kulthum directed by Michal Goldmann and narrated by Omar Sharif
Official Launch of The Big Read in Miami
Tuesday, October 7, 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami Memorial Building, Second Floor
Campo Sano Drive, Coral Gables

• El Calejón de los Milagros directed by Jorge Fons
Based on Mahfouz’s novel Midaq Alley
Wednesday, October 8, 7 p.m.
Tower Theater
1508 S.W. Eighth Street
Little Havana

• Principio y Fin directed by Arturo Ripstein
Based on a screenplay by Naguib Mahfouz
Tuesday, October 14, 7 p.m.
Tower Theater
1508 S.W. Eighth Street
Little Havana

• Adrift on the Nile directed by Hussein Kamal
Based on a screenplay by Naguib Mahfouz
Monday, October 20, 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami
Memorial Building
Second Floor
Campo Sano Drive, Coral Gables

• The Yacoubian Building directed by Marwan Hamad
Adapted from the novel by Alaa Al Aswany
Wednesday, October 23, 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami, Memorial Building, Second Floor
Campo Sano Drive, Coral Gables

• Chased by the Dogs (El less wal Kilab) directed by Kamal El Sheiken
Based on Mahfouz’s novel The Thief and the Dogs
Tuesday, October 28, 7 p.m.
Bill Cosford Cinema, University of Miami, Memorial Building, Second Floor
Campo Sano Drive, Coral Gables

• Umm Kulthum directed by Michal Goldmann and narrated by Omar Sharif
Friday, November 14, 7 p.m.
Egypt Pavilion
International Village at Miami Book Fair International
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
300 N.E. Second Avenue, Downtown Miami

• Cleopatra: First Woman of Power narrated by Anjelica Houston
Saturday, November 15, 4:30 p.m.
and Sunday, November 16, 3:30 p.m.
Egypt Pavilion
International Village at Miami Book Fair International
Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus
300 N.E. Second Avenue, Downtown Miami

Other highlights will include a special presentation on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, located in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, by Dr. Azza El Kholy, Director of Special Projects at the Bibliotheca who will speak of the library’s historical role in the production and distribution of knowledge, and its focus on dialogue and understanding between cultures and people.
Thursday, October 2, 6:30 p.m.
Miami Dade County Main Library, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami

The Big Read will culminate in November with a series of panel discussions and exhibits at Miami Book Fair International, including:
- Echoes of Women’s Voices
- The future of the Arabic Literary World in the shadow of Naguib Mahfouz
- The Making of Modern Cairo: The Beaux-Arts Movement in Egypt and the Modernization of Cairo