A Kuwaiti writer born in 1958. As a young adult he began writing in the 1970s while studying engineering at a university in his hometown until he became successful as a full-time writer. His literary essays, columns and short stories appeared in various Arabic-language magazines and newspapers.  To date, Taleb Al-Refai has published seven collections of short stories, four novels, a play and several literary studies. Some of his works have been translated to English, French and German. In 2002, Taleb Al-Refai won the Kuwaiti State Prize for Literature for his novel Raihat al-Baḥr (The Scent of the Sea). He has been appointed head of the jury committee for the third edition of the Arabic Booker Prize in 2010.