Egyptian journalist and novelist Mohamed Gebril passed away in Cairo on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, at the age of 87 after a battle with illness.

Egyptian media reported that Gebril, a recipient of the State Appreciation Award in Literature for his body of work, was one of the most prominent writers of the 1960s. He was also known for his close association with Naguib Mahfouz and authored a book titled “Naguib Mahfouz: A Friendship of Two Generations”.

The late Egyptian novelist published more than 50novels, along with short story collections and critical and intellectual works. Among his most renowned books is “Egypt in the Stories of Its Contemporary Writers”, which earned him the State Incentive Award in 1975.

During his long literary career, Gebril was regarded as a literary mentor to multiple generations of writers from the 1980s to the present. He played a pivotal role in supporting and introducing dozens of authors through the Literary Evening Symposium, one of the most significant literary forums of the 1980s and 1990s.