Hosheng Ossi

Kurdish-Syrian novelist and poet, holding Belgian nationality. He writes in both Arabic and Kurdish, and his works have been featured in several prominent Arab newspapers and literary magazines, including Al-Hayat, Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Khaleej, Nizwa (Oman), Qalamoun (Syria), Al-Shorouk (UAE), and Alam Al-Kitab (Egypt).

He is a member of:

· PEN International

· PEN Vlaanderen (Belgian PEN Club)

· The Association of Syrian Journalists

To date, Ossi has published ten poetry collections in Arabic and Kurdish, along with several novels and story collections.

Novels

1. The Weight of Certainty: The Ordeal of the Question and the Lust of Imagination - Dar Soual, Beirut (2016)
Winner of the  Katara Prize for the Arabic Novel (2017). Translated into French and English.

2. Open Illusions Party - Dar Soual, Beirut (2018)

3. The Afghan: Restless Skies - Dar Khoutout wa Zilal, Amman (2021)

4. As If I Had Never Been - Dar Soual, Beirut (2022)

5. On Behalf of the Unseen... In the Name of the Catastrophe — Batana Publishing, Cairo (2023)

6. Passive Voice "A dot… from the beginning of the line." - Dar Al-Zaman, Damascus (June 2024)

Short Story Collections

1. A Bullet with a Thousand Eyes — Batana Foundation for Culture and Publishing, Cairo (2024)

2. The Pains and Silence of Barnabas — Batana Foundation for Culture and Publishing, Cairo (2025)

Awards and Honors

· “Knights of the Rhymes” Poetry Award — Al-Ayyam Foundation, Algeria (2010)

· Katara Prize for the Arabic Novel — Katara Foundation, Qatar (2017)

· Honored at:
•  Arab Fiction Forum — Palestine (2019)
•  Tunis International Book Fair — Tunisia (2021)
•  Klawij Festival — Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (2013)

Translations

Selections from his poetry have been translated into Dutch, English, French, and Turkish.

He published a bilingual poetry collection, “I Am Not a Sea”, in Dutch and Arabic, supported by the Belgian PEN Center and the Poetry Center in Belgium.

Residence and Cultural Activities

Since late 2010, Hosheng Ossi has been residing in Belgium, where he remains active in the European and Arab literary scenes.
He has participated in numerous international literary and cultural events, including:

· Cairo International Book Fair

· Tunis International Book Fair (2021)

· Sharjah International Book Fair (2023)

· Antwerp International Book Fair, Belgium (2021)

· Arab Fiction Forum, Cairo (2018)

· Palestine Fiction Forum (2019)

Poetry

Improvisations of the Blue

2004 – Damascus – Arabic

The Tree of Thirsting Fantasies

2006 – Damascus – Kurdish

The Martyred Word

2009 – Sama Kurd Publishing House (Damascus / UAE) – Arabic

The Gazelle’s Trace and Diaries of a Stag

2012 – Writers and Authors Union in Duhok (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) – Kurdish

Necklaces of Stray Fire: In Praise of Sacrifices

2016 – Fadaat Publishing House (Jordan) – Arabic

The Cup of Poison: From the Diaries of an Unknown Female Fighter

2017 – Avesta Publishing House (Istanbul) – Kurdish

Ambushes of a Highwayman

2018 – Maysaloun Publishing House (Syria) – Arabic

Through the Eyes of an Old Crow

2020 – Lines & Shadows Publishing House (Jordan) – Arabic

I Fade Only into Your Silence

2020 – Batana Publishing House (Cairo) – Arabic

I Am Not a Sea… Yet My Heart Is Full of Seagulls

Poetry Center in Belgium – Arabic / Dutch

Near the Wall of the Lord… Beneath the Skies of Your Love

2024 – Dar Al-Zaman Publishing House (Syria / Essen) – Kurdish

Criticism
The Pronoun “Hāʾ of the Absent”: Opinions on Literature and Writing
Ibyedi Publishing House – Cairo 2025