ArabLit

Lit Lists Bushra Khalfan, Fakhri al-Barudi, Hassanine Ben Ammou, Hooda Shawa, Sonallah Ibrahim This month, we have books and events coming in September 2026, as well as one we missed from the end of August.

Lit Lists, News Abdullah Nasser, Ahmad Abdulatif, Ganna Adel, Inaam Kachachi, Mohamed Jubaiti, Naguib Mahouz Medal for Literature, Talal Faisal AUGUST 31, 2026 — Yesterday evening, American University in Cairo Press announced the shortlist for the 2026 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. The prize, now in its twentieth year, only recently began announcing a shortlist ahead of its annual winner.

News, Reviews, Syria Nada Hodali A Review of ‘Book of Damascus,’ edited by Zaher Omareen Reviewed by Nada Hodali Upon thinking of a war-ridden country, the first thought is often its political situation. We think of people going through horrendous circumstances, often forgetting that they are also attempting to live a somewhat “normal” life given everything—a normal defined by very different circumstances. The Book of Damascus vividly portrays the many facets of life in Damascus, Syria.

Fiction Ibtihal Rida Mahmood, Zainab Hifni I Was Here Yesterday is set between Saudi Arabia and the Florida coast and entangles grief and memory, centering on how the narrator grapples with her mother’s death and the truths about her mother’s life—and her own—that she uncovers. By Zainab Hifni Translated by Ibtihal Rida Mahmood I was nine years old in 1979, when the Juhayman uprising erupted. It was an extremist movement that, as my father never tired of saying, set us back years.

Lit Lists #WITMonth, Women in Translation Month August is Women in Translation Month (#WiTMonth), a month to focus on women’s writing in translation. As in past years, this month, ArabLit will highlight books, stories, and poetry by women in and for translation. This year, we’ll have a special emphasis on overlooked classics by women writers, including new translations (and fresh examinations) of work by luminaries like May Ziadeh, Alis al-Bustani, Latifa al-Zayyat, and Zoulikha Saoudi.

Poetry Sayed Abolela This poem is from a forthcoming collection,  مصمم معارك, to be published by the General Egyptian Book Organization. Tomorrow, a discussion with Sayed Aboulela about his path as a colloquial poet. CINEMA (سيما) By Sayed Abolela Translated by the author By chance—I walked into the film late. And there, in the middle of the crowd, my loneliness betrayed me. Imprisoned by the seat— and by their eyes— the bars stretched all the way to the screen. Who should I root for?

News Bulaq ArabLit Books is publishing the first English translation of early 20th century woman of letters and feminist icon May Ziadeh; Ursula Lindsey has been working on a review of the award-winning Lebanese novelist Rabih Alameddine. Marcia and Ursula also talk about a devastating book based on interviews with Gazan evacuees by the Syrian writer/activist/journalist Samar Yazbek; and a memoir of art and politics, set in Lebanon and France, by Lamia Ziadé. Listen to the episode here.

Egypt, Poetry football For our Fall 2021 issue of ArabLit Quarterly, we ran several different football chants from countries across the region. As editors Nashwa Nasreldin and Leonie Böttiger wrote: “The old adage that football is ‘just a game’ has never been true for its fans, and the saying falls particularly flat in recent years, when football fans have taken an enormous role in political, societal, and humanitarian causes.

News The Azhar Writing Prize JULY 6, 2026 — The Azhar Writing Prize — a prize for new, unpublished work in English by Arab writers — today announced its first-, second- and third-place winners, as well as one honorable mention. The three winners will share a total prize pool of £3850. This year’s prize was judged by Rana Asfour and Malu Halasa.

Fiction, Palestine Adania Shibli This story appeared in the FOOTBALL issue of ArabLit Quarterly, which you can still get in print and digital. By Adania Shibli Translator anonymous The war, it seemed, was over, after it had reached the far extremes of violence. In short, it had reached a peak, and here were the soldiers packing away their possessions and collecting their equipment, tired, exhausted, and spent, having given all their energy to battle.