MONTPELLIER, France — For the first time, literary editors and publishers from across the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region and its global diasporas will gather under one roof for the inaugural SWANA Editors & Publishers Conference: A Literary Consortium. Taking place from October 2–5, 2026, in Montpellier, France, this historic four-day convening brings together key voices to address the pressing constraints shaping regional literary production and to build sustainable models for cross-border collaboration.

The conference is generously supported by primary funder Open Society Foundations and hosted in partnership with the City of Montpellier at the historic Maison des Relations Internationales Nelson Mandela. 

“This conference is a starting point, not a finished structure,” noted Jordan Elgrably, publisher of The Markaz Review, which is producing the conference. “Over three days in Montpellier, we will introduce our work to one another, exchange honestly about the crises and constraints shaping SWANA literary publishing in this moment, and spend real working time on what collaboration between our publications could actually look like.”

This event is not open to the public.