Dima Wannous (Arabic: ديمة ونوس; born 1982 in Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian literary writer and journalist. She studied French literature at Damascus University and the University of Paris - Sorbonne. She also studied translation in France and has lived in Beirut, where she worked for the newspapers Al-Hayat and As-Safir. She has also worked for broadcast media (radio and TV).

Wannous first became known with Tafasil (Details), a short story collection released in 2007, which describes the Syrian society focussing on different characters with "ironic-grotesque overtones" and showing how they bow to power.^[1] She published her debut novel Kursi (The Chair) in 2008. In 2009, she was named as one of the Beirut39, a group of 39 Arab writers under the age of 40 chosen through a contest by Banipal magazine and the Hay Festival.^[2]

Her 2017 novel Kha'ifoun (The Frightened Ones), describes the life of a young woman in Damascus during the Syrian civil war who receives a manuscript by a former lover who had fled to Germany. The book was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction,^[3] and has been translated into English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Turkish, and Norwegian.^[4][5]

Her narrative style has been described as "sober and often painfully precise".^[6]

Dima Wannous is the daughter of Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous.^[7] She is married to the Syrian journalist Ibrahim Hamidi^[8] and both live in London.^[9]

• Syrian literature - Literature in the context of war and imprisonment

• Dima Wannous short story Sahar, translated from Arabic by Ghenwa Hayek, at Banipal magazine