Bound Together: My Longings for Ishmael
Albert Swissa reminds us that Isaac had a brother who was expelled and erased, with his mother Hagar, from the house of his father.
Featured excerpt
Fiction: An Excerpt from Fadi Zaghmout’s Hope On Earth
In a dystopian world, thanks to AI, people no longer die because they can be upgraded to better and more functional forms.
Immigrants in Houston: Fiction From Anis Shivani’s Patel Mart
Novelist Anis Shivani has lived in Houston for more than a decade and sets his upcoming novel amongst its immigrant community.
Fiction: Inaam Kachachi’s The Dispersal, or Tashari
An excerpt from Inaan Kachachi's novel that laments the scattering of Iraqis across the world as a result of war and political oppression.
“Malika,” an excerpt from Abdellah Taïa’s Vivre à ta lumìere
In this excerpt from a chapter in his latest novel in French, Abdellah Taïa pays homage to his mother, his favorite heroine.
“Fatima and The Handsome Jew”—Ali Al-Muqri
In "The Handsome Jew" the novelist from Yemen recounts a powerful yet tragic tale of forbidden love.
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.
Women and Literary Madness
Shahd Alshammari, a scholar of illness and disability, has written an extended study of literary madness.
Joumana Haddad: “Victim #232”
A preview of the new Arabic novel from the author of "I Killed Scheherazade" and "Superman is an Arab."
Steve Sabella: Excerpts from “The Parachute Paradox”
In these stories from his impassioned memoir, Steve Sabella works to decolonize the mind and liberate his identity.
Bakhtiyar Ali: “The Prisoner and the Plague”
From one of the most prominent contemporary authors and poets from Iraqi Kurdistan comes an unforgettable tale of oppression, and freedom.
Hawra Al-Nadawi: “Tuesday and the Green Movement”
Translator Alice Guthrie shares a preview of Al-Nadawi's exquisite 2017 novel "Qismet," a Kurdish story set in Iraq and Iran.
“Intellectuals”—fiction from Hisham Bustani
From the fabulous — some would say surreal — Jordanian storyteller who gave us "The Monotonous Chaos of Existence."
Palestinian and Israeli: Excerpt from “Haifa Fragments”
khulud khamis [sic], a Slovak-Palestinian writer living in Haifa, shares an excerpt from her novel in which Maisoon and Christina go on a journey.
Arguments Toward a Universal Palestinian Identity
Palestinian Israeli Maurice Ebileeni looks at the Palestinian experience within and beyond the homeland.