a Kuwaiti novelist and storywriter who first published his works in the mid 1970’s. So far, he has published 5 novels and 7 story collections.Al Refai is known for his controversial writings, especially those related to women and labor. He won the Kuwait State Award for Arts & Literature in 2002 for his novel Ra’ehat Al Bahr (The Scent of the Sea). His novels and stories were translated to English, French, Spanish and German.He chaired the jury of the 3rd Arabic Booker Prize for Fiction and in 2012 and participated in the International Writing Program with the Iowa Writing University. Currently, Al Refai teaches creative writing at the American University of Kuwait.