Habib Ayyoub حبيب أيوب
Habib Ayyoub at the 20th Maghreb des Livres book fair, Paris, 2014.
Born	Abdelaziz Benmahdjoub (1947-10-15)15 October 1947 Takdempt, Algeria
Occupation	novelist, journalist
Language	French
Nationality	Algerian
Notable works	Le Gardien
Notable awards	2003 : Mohammed Dib Prize for C'était la guerre; 2013: "Escales" Prize for Le Remonteur d'Horloge (Barzakh)

Habib Ayyoub (real name Abdelaziz Benmahdjoub,^[1] born 15 October 1947 in Takdempt) is an Algerian writer, journalist, and film-maker, notable for his novels in French. He lives in Dellys.^[2]

Biography

After studying sociology, then filmmaking at the INSAS in Brussels,^[3] he became a correspondent of Le Jeune Indépendant, then economic journalist at Liberté.^[4]

He then made a few short films before going on to publish his first books: Le Désert et après and Le Gardien (published by Barzakh Editions^[5]) in 2002. Le Gardien tells the story of a soldier posted to a remote settlement in the desert.^[6]

Two of his works have been translated into Italian: Il guardiano (Le gardien) and Il regolatore di orologi (Le remonteur d'horloge).^[7]