Earlier this week, Omani author Jokha Alharthi became the first-ever Arabic language novelist to win the prestigious Man Booker International Prize. She's also one of only six Arab authors to have ever been nominated for the price.

The writer won for her novel Celestial Bodies (Sayyidat al-Qamar) - originally written in Arabic - which follows the lives of three sisters and their families as witnesses to Oman's "cultural evolution from a traditional society in the post-colonial period."

Judges of the competition spoke highly of the novel - which is also the first Omani book to be translated into English - describing it as "a richly imagined, engaging and poetic insight." 

Alharthi shared the £50,000 ($63,000) she received with her translator, American academic Marilyn Booth.

In a statement she gave to press following her win, Alharthi said she was elated at the achievement. 

"I am thrilled that a window has been opened to the rich Arabic culture," she said

"Oman inspired me but I think international readers can relate to the human values in the book - freedom and love," she added.

The writer started working on her novel while studying in Scotland. Speaking of it, she said "it touches the subject of slavery," adding that she believes "literature is the best platform to have this dialogue." 

A spokesperson for Sandstone Press, the small-sized, independent publishing company that picked up Alharthi's novel for translation, said the team behind it was also excited over the news. 

"Our editor really championed Celestial Bodies, she saw something special in it. It's just a beautiful book about families and their loves and their losses. It's fantastic that we are able to see into this world," the spokesperson said.

People are thrilled for Alharthi

"Proud of you"

"Congrats to Jokha Alharthi, congrats to Oman"

Alharthi has long been an acclaimed novelist

The writer, who's currently working on her fourth novel, is a well-established author and academic in the region who launched her career at the age of 19. 

The novelist debuted in 2004 when her first fiction, Manamat (Dreams), was published. She then issued Celestial Bodies in 2010, followed by Narinjah (Bitter Orange), published in 2016 and won that year's Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature. 

Alharthi has also written three short-story collections and two children's books. She was nominated for a Sheikh Zayed Book Award in the Young Authors category in 2012.