Born in 1957, Alaa al Aswani is a dentist-turned-writer who has was written prolifically for Egyptian newspapers on literature, politics and social issues.

He was made famous by The Yacoubian Building (Imarat Yaacoubian), published in 2002, which for several years was reputedly the best-selling novel in Arabic. It depicts the ills of modern Egypt through the inhabitants of a once-fashionable apartment block in downtown Cairo. Though the characters are fictitious, the Yacoubian Building actually exists - it is where Aswani's first dental surgery was based.