Maïsse
Bey

Maïssa  Bey (real name Samia Benameur) was born near Algiers in 1950. She studied Romance Studies and worked as a teacher up to the 1990s. In response to the bloody conflicts which shook her country during the so-called Black Decade (1992-2002) she broke her silence and began writing using her grandmother’s name as a pseudonym. Maïssa  Bey –  who describes herself as »an Arabic woman by birth, culture, and language. And a Muslim. Profoundly shaped by Muslim culture and tradition« – chose literature in order to become more than a passive, mute witness to events whose violent nature challenges all her senses. Maïssa  Bey has been awarded numerous prizes in France and in Algeria, as well as the LiBeratur Prize for her novel »Surtout ne te retourne pas« (2005). Her story »Overcoming the Day« has been published in German .The author is currently working on a novel about Algeria’s recent past. Maïssa Bey lives and works in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria.