On February 13, 2015, Mourid Barghouti, award-winning Palestinian writer and poet, announced the names of the shortlisted authors as he chairs this year’s judging panel for the 8th annual International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF).

Announced in Casablanca, Morocco, at the opening of the Casablanca International Book Fair, the IPAF is awarded for prose fiction in Arabic. Each of the six shortlisted finalists receives $10,000, with a further $50,000 going to the winner, in addition to the winning novel being translated into English.

This year, 180 novels from 15 countries were nominated. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on May 6, the eve of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

From refugee camps to Arabs in exile to tales of freed slaves, this year’s shortlist of nominated novels all sound quite heart-throbbingly good.

Pulling the books review from IPAF's website, here is our breakdown of the shortlist with our own anticipation rating.

1. Atef Abu Saif - Palestine

With a record of rich academic endeavors, as well as several publications in the worlds of literature and politics, Atef Abu Saif, who was born in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, brings us "A Suspended Life," which is set in the Gaza refugee camp.

Plot: " Naim runs the only print shop in the camp, where he prints posters of martyred members of the community. When he is shot and killed by the Army, the fallout from his death changes the lives of the community living a quiet life on the fringes of the camp, where Naim’s house sits on a small hill. The place has historical significance for the residents and, when the government plans to build a police station and mosque on the spot where Naim’s house stands, it leads to a clash between the residents and the police."

Anticipation Rating: 3/5 Steps

2. Jana Elhassan – Lebanon

The 29-year-old journalist and novelist is not new to the IPAF shortlist. Her novel "Me, She and the Other Women" was shortlisted for the IPAF in 2013. In addition, her first novel, "Forbidden Desires ," was published in 2009 and won the Simon Hayek Prize.

Plot: ""Floor 99" unfolds between the 1982 massacre at Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon and life in the city of New York in 2000. Majd is a young Palestinian man who bears a scar from the massacre. In present day New York, he falls in love with Hilda, a dancer, whose wealthy family from Mount Lebanon thrived on the power of the Christian right wing during the Lebanese civil war - who were directly linked to the massacre at Sabra and Shatila.

When Hilda decides to return to her village on Mount Lebanon to discover her roots, Majd is torn between mental images of the old enemy and his fear of losing his love. He is forced to reflect on the painful events which took the life of his pregnant mother and turned his father, a teacher, into a rose-seller on the streets of Harlem. From his office on the 99th floor of a New York building, Majd's Palestinian identity seems ambiguous, especially given that he was born and always lived in exile. The novel reflects on the power of love to cleanse hatred and brings the post-war Lebanese generation face-to-face with their ancestors."

Anticipation Rating: 5/5 Steps

3. Lina Huyan Elhassan – Syria

Elhassan has published nine works of fiction and non-fiction varying between novels, poetry and studies of the Syrian Desert. This year, she brings us "Diamonds and Women."

Plot: "The novel describes two generations of Arab exiles, revealing the secret, privileged world of Arab emigrants and showing their influence on their chosen cities of Paris, Sao Paolo and Damascus. The novel focuses particularly on Syrians living in Paris and Sao Paolo from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1970s and 1980s and the experiences of the heroine, Almaz, as she witnesses key points of Arab social and political history in the modern era."

Anticipation Rating: 2/5 Steps

4. Shukri al-Mabkhout – Tunisia

At 52, al-Mabkhout published his first novel, "The Italian," proving it is never too late for a new career.

Plot: " At the heart of the novel is Abdel Nasser (nicknamed 'the Italian') and his mysterious assault on the Imam, his neighbor, during his father’s funeral procession. The book’s narrator attempts to uncover the motivations behind the attack, re-constructing his friend Abdel Nasser’s troubled history from childhood. It looks at Abdel Nasser’s time as a left-wing student at the University of Tunis, during the final years of the Bourguiba era and the beginning of Ben Ali's, through to the period of radical changes that subsequently rocked Tunisian society, when the dreams of a generation were torn apart by the fierce struggle between the Islamists and the Left. The novel reveals the mechanisms of control and censorship exercised through the press as well as the fragility of human beings, their secret histories and buried wounds."

Rating of Anticipation: 3/5 Steps

5. Ahmed al-Madeeni – Morocco

Along al-Madeeni’s journey, he has published a number of novels and short story collections as well as works of literary criticism. His complete works were published in five volumes by the Moroccan Ministry of Culture in 2014. He won the Moroccan Prize for Literary Criticism in 2006 and the Moroccan Prize for the short story in 2009.

The Plot: ‘Willow Alley’  tells the story of a bustling, ancient Moroccan town which hides many secrets, where residents struggle to live in peace while at the mercy of a few arrogant and despotic individuals. Focusing on the struggle between the caretaker of a building under construction and a group of people clinging to their land in order to survive, the novel examines the individual’s right to exist in a country where lives are vulnerable to exploitation and the powerful thrive at the expense of the weak.

Anticipation Rating: 2/5 Steps

6. Hammour Ziada – Sudan

In addition to his career in writing and journalism, Ziada has also worked with charity and civil society organizations. His novel, "The Longing Dervish," which is shortlisted for this year’s IPAF award, also won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2014.

Plot: "Set in 19th century Sudan during the collapse of the theocratic state, "The Longing of the Dervish" follows the story of Bakhi Mindeel, a former slave newly released from prison and seeking revenge for his imprisonment. His release coincides with the end of the Mahdist war, a British colonial war fought between Egypt and a section of Sudanese society seeking independence under their religious leader, Mahdi when Mahdi and his followers are defeated and force to flee. "The Longing of the Dervish" examines the social conflict between white Christian and Islamic Sufi cultures in Sudan, exploring the concepts of love, religion, betrayal and political struggle."

Anticipation Rating: 4/5 Steps