Fez — Moroccan poet Samira Faraji has received the 2025 Global Awards Excellence Prize in Arabic Literature during a ceremony held in Marrakech, marking a new milestone for a body of work praised across the Arab world and beyond.
The distinction honors the expressive power and cultural influence of her poetry, which blends lyrical depth with a strong sense of engagement.
The prize was handed to Faraji by the ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Morocco, in the presence of leading writers, critics, and cultural figures from several Arab countries. The Global Awards jury highlighted what it described as the literary quality, emotional intensity, and originality of her writing, as well as its impact on a broad community of readers and young creators.
Faraji, who trained as a lawyer and graduated from the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences at Mohammed I University in Oujda, embodies a dual intellectual identity. Her career has long moved between legal rigor and poetic sensitivity. Over the years, she has taken part in numerous seminars and literary festivals in Morocco and abroad, consolidating an active presence on the wider Arab cultural scene.
A rich tapestry of works
Her bibliography already includes five poetry collections: “Sarkhatou Harik” (“The Scream of Burning”) (2010), “Rassail Annar wa Lmae” (“Letters of Fire and Water”) (2013), “Rissala Liloumam Al Mouttahida” (“A Letter to the United Nations”) (2017), and “Nour” (“Light”) (2022).
Critics have devoted in-depth studies to these works, which have also been translated into several languages, including French, English, Spanish, Amazigh, German, Turkish, and Indonesian. The Marrakech prize adds to a series of earlier honors. Samira Faraji was named Woman of the Year in 2017 in Fez, then Woman of Arabic Poetry in 2019 in Rabat — distinctions that firmly established her as one of the notable contemporary voices in Arabic verse.
Several renowned Arab artists, among them Ghada Shbeir, Lotfi Bouchnak, and Fouad Tarab, have set her poems to music, giving her texts a second life on stage and in recordings.
By distinguishing Samira Faraji, the Global Awards shine a light on a singular voice that carries universal emotions. The recognition also serves as a reminder that Arabic poetry, far from being marginal, remains a living vehicle for awareness, beauty, and cultural transmission — and that Moroccan voices continue to play a central part in that ongoing story.
