Abu Dhabi Shows Noura Ali-Ramahi’s “Allow Me Not to Explain”
Rana Asfour talks to an Emirati about her ideas and development as an artist.
Author: Rana Asfour
“What Are You Doing in Berlin?”—a short story by Ahmed Awny
Egyptian writer Ahmed Awny divigates between fiction and reality in this decentering short story.
Phoneless in Filthy Berlin
Maisan Hamdan, a single Palestinian woman, attempts to survive in Berlin without a cell phone.
After Nine Years in Detention, an Iraqi is Finally Granted Asylum
Rana Asfour reviews the third novel from Dutch Iraqi writer Rodaan Al Galidi.
Libyan Stories from the novel “Bread on Uncle Milad’s Table”
The Markaz Review presents Libya's Mohammed al-Naas in these exclusive excerpts translated by Rana Asfour.
The Devil’s Waiting List—a story by Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi
A solitary bachelor, seeking success as a writer, wonders what he has to do in contemporary Cairo to get ahead.
Leaving One’s Country in Mai Al-Nakib’s “An Unlasting Home”
Rana Asfour reviews Mai Al-Nakib's debut novel, in which the protagonist always thought she would leave her country.
Ahmed Naji: “Godshow.com”
The Egyptian novelist and author of "Rotten Evidence: Reading and Writing in Prison" finds versions of Islam in the Nevada desert.
Joumana Haddad: “Victim #232”
A preview of the new Arabic novel from the author of "I Killed Scheherazade" and "Superman is an Arab."
Siena and Her Art Soothe a Writer’s Grieving Soul
Rana Asfour reviews Libyan-American author Hisham Matar's memoir of his time in Siena, Italy.
A Miscarriage of Justice in the Case of Mahmood Hussain Mattan
Rana Asfour reviews the Booker Prize-nominated novel by Nadifa Mohamed based on the true story of a wrongly-convicted Somali in 1950s Cardiff.
Fadi Zaghmout’s banned-in-Jordan “Laila”: a TMR Valentine
In this excerpt of the banned Jordanian novel "Laila," introduced by Rana Asfour and translated by Hajer Almosleh, readers get a sense of Fadi Zaghmout's prose and purpose.
Taming the Immigrant: Musings of a Writer in Exile
Former prisoner and Egyptian writer in exile Ahmed Naji contemplates what it means to be a "brown writer" in exile in America.
Meditations on The Ungrateful Refugee
Rana Asfour shares her thoughts on the widely-celebrated book from Dina Nayeri, who writes that escaping and becoming a refugee preoccupied her life for more than 20 years.
Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world
Rana Asfour provides an intimate look at two new Arab novels in translation, from Lebanese and Syrian authors.
From Jerusalem to a Kingdom by the Sea
Rana Asfour reviews a new memoir about the legendary Dajani family, charged by a Turkish sultan with watching over King David's Tomb in Jerusalem, but exiled in 1948.
Three Banned Saudi Novels Everyone Should Read
Despite its repressive regimes, Saudi Arabia has produced a number of world-class novelists — several of whom have seen their best work banned. Rana Asfour reviews three in English translation.
The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria
Rana Asfour reviews Faysal Khartash's Roundabout of Death and Zeyn Joukhadar's The Map of Salt and Stars.
Three North African Novels Dance Between Colonial & Postcolonial Worlds
BookFabulous' Rana Asfour delivers capsule reviews of three recent North African novels from Libya and Morocco.
Muhammad Malas, Syria’s Auteur, is the subject of a Film Biography
Rana Asfour reviews a documentary by Nezar Andary on the Syrian auteur filmmaker, Muhammad Malas.
The “Surreal Hell” That Made Tahar Ben Jelloun a Writer
The Punishment is a first-person account from an author who considers writers to be "witnesses of history."