Yet another Nobel Prize-winner. A much-respected name in modern Arabic literature, Mahfouz is a writer with an enviable bibliography. The list includes 32 novels, 13 collections of short stories, doctoral theses, complete studies of his work, and a whole lot of journalism in English and other languages. And yes, he may be old, but he still releases a novel every year.

TOMAS ELOY MARTINEZ

Born in Argentina during the military dictatorship, Martinez wrote his first three books while living in exile in Venezuela. They were republished in Argentina's first months of democracy, in 1983. Then, in 1988, came The Peron Novel, a piece of art that combined fiction, fact, journalism and actual interviews to create the complex tale of Juan Domingo Peron.

Photograph: Photograph: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

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