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Talking with Zehira Houfani - one of the first women authors of Crime Fiction in Algeria

The following is a translation of my exchange with the author which was conducted in French. The original appears below. 







Zehira Houfani is an Algerian writer who started publishing in the 80s. She published two detective novels among which “Pirates of the Desert” in 1986, a story set in Tamanrasset (Les pirates du desert). Few women have written crime fiction in Algeria, in Arabic or in French. Zehira Houfani is one of them and she might even be the first to have published a detective novel in DZ.

She now lives in Canada, and from there, she kindly answered a few questions about her experience as a writer in Algeria at the time, and about her detective novel Pirates of the Desert.

What brought you to crime fiction initially and what inspired you to write not one detective novel but four of them, two published and two manuscripts?

I guess my readings led me to it. This was at least the case for my first novel. Later, two factors encouraged me to pursue this route. The first was the interest I began to discover I had exploring various ills affecting society using a genre that was both narrative and dynamic. The second factor came from the encouragement of my then-editor, the director of the National Enterprise for Literature (ENAL) who liked the initiative, knowing that I was the only woman author in a genre not very present in Algeria at the time. Following the publication of Pirates of the Desert in 1986, I began writing Rendez-vous fatal (Fatal Meeting) which in turn was accepted for publication. This time, I fully embarked on this new passion, and wrote a fourth novel. Unfortunately, the economic and political context in Algeria then was taking a turn for the worst with falling petrol prices, a situation that had disastrous consequences. State publishing, as with every other state sectors entered into a serious crisis. Later, the entire country began to experience great tragedies. With the October 1988 protests and the black decade that began in 90s, priorities changed. These events put a brutal end to my experience as a writer of detective novels and I found myself with two unpublished manuscripts in my drawers.

Was it difficult to find a publishing house? How did ENAL initially react when they discovered a woman writing detective fiction?

No, I met with no difficulties attached to the fact this book was detective fiction. On the contrary, I was lucky to have found an editor who was opened-minded and whose spirit fed my own motivation. He was very interested in my project for detective fiction produced by women. But having said that, publishing in Algeria generally speaking was a nightmare for authors. When the National Publishing and Distribution House (SNED) was still in place, it could take years for a book to be published. I myself had to wait about 4 years to see « L'incomprise » (A Woman Misunderstood) published and which I had submitted long before my detective novel.

In Pirates of the desert, you chose two men as main characters, why didn’t you choose a woman?

I would have liked to, but at the time the context was not right, it seems to me. Algeria in the 70s and 80s did not have women characters who could play this role in a detective novel. At that time, the percentage of working women was very low and those who held decision-making posts were rare. We mustn’t forget that our independence was only 20 years-old then, and that when we started out, 95 % of the population was illiterate. Having said that, I think I would have reached that stage if my writing experience in the genre had continued. With the evolution of society and with the education of women, the transition would have come naturally. 


In this same novel, the story is set in Tamanrasset. Why did this city inspire you?

I am afraid this is not going to be a very exciting answer. I got my inspiration from articles in Algerian newspapers reporting on contraband in this city. I didn’t visit Tamanrasset for Pirates of the desert, but I spent time researching to find the relevant facts that would help me describe the city and the life of its inhabitants.


What detective novels would you recommend to us? Is there an author or a novel in particular that has marked you?

I stopped reading them a while back but I used to go to libraries and bookshops and pick up titles randomly. In the genre, I’d recommend Strangers on a train, and of course Agatha Christie whose sense of intrigue I so admired. I read her hoping I would learn from her to one day become an Algerian detective novelist.



Many thanks to Zehira.



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 Rencontre avec Zehira Houfani
L'une des premières écrivaines de romans policiers en Algérie







Zehira Houfani est une romancière algérienne qui a commencé à publier dans les années 80. Elle a publié, entre autre, deux romans policiers dont un en 1986 Les pirates du désert, où l’histoire se déroule à Tamanrasset. Les pirates du désert est probablement le premier roman policier publié par une femme auteur en Algérie, rendant peut être ainsi Zehira Houfani la pionnière féminine de ce genre en Algérie.


Qu'est ce qui vous a attiré vers le polar et vous a inspiré à en écrire, non pas un, mais quatre, deux publiés et deux manuscrits ?


J'imagine que c'est la somme de mes lectures dans le genre qui m'y a conduit. Tout au moins pour le premier ouvrage. Par la suite, il y' a eu deux facteurs qui m'ont encouragé à poursuivre. Le premier est l'intérêt que je trouvais de traiter différents fléaux de la société sous cette forme romanesque et dynamique. Le second venait de l'encouragement de mon éditeur de l'époque, le directeur littéraire de l'entreprise national du livre (ENAL) séduit par l'initiative, sachant que j'étais l'unique femme dans ce genre de littérature peu présente en Algérie. Après la publication des pirates du désert en 1986, je me suis lancée dans l'écriture du Rendez-vous fatal qui reçut à son tour un avis favorable pour publication. Cette fois, j'embarque à fond dans cette nouvelle passion et je rédige le 4e manuscrit. Malheureusement, le contexte économique et politique de l'Algérie bascule avec la chute du prix du pétrole et les conséquences vont être désastreuses. L'édition publique, comme tous les autres secteurs étatiques, entrent en crise. Et plus tard, c'est tout le pays qui sombre dans le drame avec les soulèvements d'octobre 1988 et la décennie noire des années 90 imposant d'autres priorités. Cela a mit fin brutalement à mon expérience de polars algériens et je me suis retrouvée avec 2 inédits de cette époque qui traînent dans mes tiroirs.


Est-ce qu'il vous a été difficile de trouver une maison d'édition ? Comment celle qui vous a publié a-t-elle réagi en découvrant une algérienne auteur de polar ?


Non, je n'ai pas eu de difficulté pour le fait que ce soit un polar. Au contraire, j'ai été chanceuse de faire affaire avec un homme dont l'ouverture d'esprit a alimenté ma propre motivation. Il ne cachait pas son intérêt pour mon projet de polar algérien «au féminin». Cela dit, l'édition de façon générale en Algérie était un calvaire pour les auteurs. Du temps de la Société nationale d'édition et de diffusion (SNED), cela prenait des années pour publier un livre. J'ai moi-même attendu près de 4 ans pour publier «L'incomprise» que j'avais soumis bien avant le polar.


Dans Pirates du désert, vous avez choisi deux hommes comme personnages principaux, pourquoi pas une femme ?

J'aurais aimé effectivement, mais le contexte de l'époque ne s'y prêtait pas, me semble-t-il. L'Algérie des années 70/80 ne disposait pas d'éléments féminins en mesure de jouer ce rôle dans un polar. À cette époque, le pourcentage de femmes travailleuses était très bas et à des niveaux décisionnels plutôt rare. Il ne faut pas oublier que notre indépendance n'avait que 20 ans, et qu'en partant la population algérienne était à 95 % analphabète. Cela étant, j'y serais parvenu sans aucun doute si mon expérience s'était poursuivi. Avec l'évolution de la société et l'éducation des femmes, le passage se serait fait naturellement.



Dans ce même roman, l'histoire se déroule à Tamanrasset. Pourquoi cette ville vous a-t-elle inspirée ?

Je crains que ce soit une réponse plutôt plate, puisque je me suis tout simplement inspirée d'articles de journaux algériens abordant les trafics dans cette ville. Je n'avais pas visité Tamanrasset pour l'écriture des pirates du désert, j'ai fait des recherches pour trouver des informations pertinentes pour décrire la ville et la vie de ses habitants.



Quels romans policiers nous recommanderiez-vous de lire ? Il y a-t-il un auteur ou un roman policier qui vous a marqué en particulier ?

Il y'a très longtemps que je n'en lis plus. Je suis par conséquent décalée pour recommander des polars. Pour ce qui concerne mes lectures, j'allais au hasard des rencontres et des découvertes des auteurs dans les librairies et bibliothèques. Dans le genre polar, j'ai lu, entre autres, l'auteure de l'inconnu du Nord-Express, et beaucoup plus, Agatha Christie dont j'admirais le sens de l'intrigue, avec le souhait intérieur d'apprendre d'elle et de devenir l'auteure algérienne de polar.


Un grand merci à Zehira Houfani pour sa générosité.

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