“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.
Centerpiece
Big Laleh, Little Laleh—memoir by Shokouh Moghimi
Who knows what drives anyone mad? For a sister who loves her big sister and emulates her, the mystery will perhaps never be resolved.
“Asha and Haaji”—a story by Hanif Kureishi
The author of the story collection "Love in a Blue Time" weaves a dystopian tale of migrants, love and literature.
Traveling in Contentious Spaces — Saudi Arabia
When friends in Abu Dhabi asked Deborah Williams how she could support MBS by going to “his” festival, she didn’t have an answer, only another question: how do we draw the lines around where we will or won’t go?
Climate Disasters Hasten the Advent of a World Refugee Crisis
Novelist Omar El Akkad ("What Strange Paradise", "American War") warns that wildfires and other climate disasters are creating the conditions for a global refugee crisis the world is not prepared for.
The Untold Story of Zakaria Zubeidi
Ramzy Baroud writes of a whole generation of Palestinians in the West Bank who are caught up in an impossible dilemma.
“Gaza: Mowing the Lawn” by Artist Jaime Scholnick
Art critic Sagi Refael reviews painted images from the 2014 Gaza war that he calls "one of the most significant politically-charged art series of recent years."
I Love Wasta, Hate Standing in Line in Egypt, But I Am Poor
After surviving an Egyptian prison and obtaining asylum in the United States, Ahmed Naji contemplates wasta and standing in line.
The Labyrinth of Memory
Critic Ziad Suidan meditates on the meaning of the labyrinth and the walls that can separate us but also remind us of our shared history inside the hammam.
Tales from the City of Galéjades
Longtime Marseille resident and crime novelist François Thomazeau describes his French city of choice.
Egypt’s Night of the Battle of Horses and Camels
Photojournalist Iason Athanasiadis shares his remembrance and unpublished photos from the decisive battle of the 18 days that shook the world.
Bahamut, or the Salt of the Earth
Farah Abdessamad remembers the Dead Sea and the myth of Bahamut.
The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now
Palestinian attorney and a founder of the human rights organization Al-Haq, Raja Shehadeh takes us on a journey of memory and history, from Ramallah to Jerusalem.
Artists on the Trump Era
Three American artists, Daliah Ammar, Sandow Birk and Jos Sances, share their work, created during the Trump administration.
Beirut In Pieces
In this wide-ranging essay, the writer revisits life before and after the civil war, participates in Lebanon's revolution, imagines the country's monetary implosion, and contemplates the Port of Beirut explosion—all while weighing the social terms of Lebanon's political renewal.