In his novel, The Children of the Ghetto: My Name is Adam, Khoury tells the story of a Palestinian who – just like his people – fights for a place he can call home and for the memory of those who have been wronged.
During Conrad Festival 2021, the author talked about the social and political mechanisms that turn victims into perpetrators. How is it possible that the incredible suffering experienced by a given community fails to prevent it from inflicting violence on others?
Listen to the interview with Hanna Jankowska here.

Samar Yazbek‘s novel “Planet of clay” (also known as The blue pen) is a finalist to the National Book Award, and is competing with 4 other titles in the translated fiction category!
Planet of clay was in the third and final selection of the French Femina award in 2018.
 

ArabLit, 9 September 2021

Organizers announced the eight novels chosen for the Prix de La Littérature Arabe, a French prize that celebrates literature by Arab authors written in French or literature translated from Arabic to French:
The prize, created in 2013 by the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation and the Arab World Institute, is now in its ninth year. This year’s prize features a wide range of books from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Algeria, Mauritania, Oman, and Palestine. Three of the books are also available in English translation.
This year, the majority of the selected books are …

 
As I sat, to write this post, I started searching for the best photo of you. The one I thought represented you most. And I ended up choosing the only one I never used.
You emailed me a set of photographs to send out while promoting your work, back in 2014. “Which one do you prefer?” you asked. I liked the ones where we could get a glimpse of your smile. They were bright, and taken from an angle where you looked all mighty and confident. I felt these reflected your sarcasm well.

Out of the gutter is a most unusual read: A saga that mixes tragedy, and a dark, off the wall humor.

A daughter and her mother in an apartment in London. Every evening, they meet, with an occasional glass of whisky, going over the times, not so long ago, where they were a large family, all women, living in Damascus.