Odai Al Zoubi

Odai Al Zoubi is a Syrian short-story writer, essayist, and translator. He lives in Malmö, Sweden. He has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of East Anglia. His short story collections include Nisf ibtisma [A Half Smile] (Mamdouh Adwan Publishing House, 2022); Kitab alhikma wa alsathaja [The Book of Wisdom and Naïveté] (Mamdouh Adwan Publishing House, 2019), Nawafeth [Windows] (Al Mutawassit Publications, 2017), and Al-Samat [Silence] (Al Mutawassit Publications, 2015). He also published a collection of essays, Qindl om hashim almafqūd [Om Hashim’s Lost Lamp] (Syrian League for Citizenship, 2016). Al Zoubi was awarded a 2023 creative and critical writings grant from AFAC (Arab Fund for Arts and Culture) for Empty Heavens, a collection of stories about everyday Syrians in their countries of refuge. His essay in English, “Last Christmas,” can be read and listened to (with Bill Nighy reading): https://www.alxr.com/

Rana Asfour is the Managing Editor at The Markaz Review, as well as a freelance writer, book critic and translator. Her work has appeared in such publications as Madame Magazine, The Guardian UK and The National/UAE. She chairs TMR’s English-language Book Club, which meets online the last Sunday of every month. She tweets @bookfabulous.