Ibrahim al-Koni is a Libyan writer who writes novels, literary and critical studies, linguistic works, and works on history and politics. The French magazine Lire selected him as one of the fifty most prominent contemporary novelists in the world. He has been praised by cultural, critical, academic, and official circles in Europe, America, and Japan, and has been nominated for the Nobel Prize several times. The Swiss included his name in a book commemorating prominent figures residing in their country; he is the only writer from the Middle East and North Africa, and indeed the only one from the developing world, to be featured in this book. The President of Switzerland took him on one of the most significant cultural events, making him the first foreigner chosen as an honorary member of a delegation headed by the Swiss President in 1998, when Switzerland was the guest of honor at the Frankfurt International Book Fair during its fiftieth anniversary, its golden jubilee. He has authored 81 books, and his works have been translated into approximately 40 living languages. It is taught in the curricula of many universities, such as the Sorbonne, the University of Tokyo, or Georgetown University, and is used as a reference material for research studies to obtain academic degrees.