Rabia Djelti

Rabia Djelti (born 1954) is an Algerian writer, fluent in both Arabic and French. In 2002, for her poetry and novels, she was awarded the prize for Arabic literature in Abu-Dhabi. In addition to her writing, Djelti teaches literature at the University of Algiers.

Biography Born on 5 August 1954 in Nedroma, she went to primary school in Morocco before attending secondary school in Oran (1969–1975). From an early age, she was attracted to French literature, discovering the works of Baudelaire and Victor Hugo in her father's library. She started translating the books she liked best into Arabic. She graduated in literature from the University of Oran in 1979 before earning a doctorate in Damascus in 1990. She explained that while her poems had each had a story to tell, she had always been tempted to write novels but it was only in 2010 that she finally began to do so.

Personal life Djelti is married to the Algerian writer Amin Zaoui. Their daughter, Lina Doran, is a singer-songwriter.