“Silence is Golden”—a short story by Farah Ahamed
In Farah Ahamed's latest satire, one man's misunderstood greatness drives him to take preposterous action.
Fiction
“Supplication”—a short story by Hisham Bustani
In Hisham Bustani’s new short story, one man’s religious nightmare brings him face to face with an unlikely public intellectual of his day.
“Kaleidoscope: In Pursuit of the Real in a Virtual World”—fiction from Dina Abou Salem
Caught between Beirut and a town in the Californian desert, Buthayna searches for the meaning amid life’s absurdities.
“The Beggar King”—a short story by Michael Scott Moore
Michael Scott Moore channels veteran experiences through a wily cat as an Iraq war vet tries to readapt to life in Calaveras, California.
“A Dog in the Woods”—a short story by Malu Halasa
Malu Halasa's story takes place on one day in the life of the family patriarch who confronts memories of assimilation and broken families.
“Hamidinou’s Smile”—a Mauritanian story by Ahmed Isselmou
In Ahmed Isselmou's short story, a Mauritanian man struggles to maintain his resilience and perseverance in the face of ongoing misfortunes.
“Sweet Tea”—a classic Kurdish story by Hussein Arif
In this short story translated from Kurdish for the first time, a young man discovers that his discomfort was suppressing his true feelings.
“Tainted”—fiction from May Haddad
In May Haddad's story, a conversation between a young girl and her grandmother reveals the fault lines between the generations.
“Kill Yusuf”—a short story by Hisham Al-Najjar
In a modern interpretation of Eros and Thanatos, "Kill Yusuf" reveals how thwarted love can lead to unexpected consequences.
Stories From The Markaz, Stories From the Center
TMR's literary editor introduces the 2023 double summer literary issue.
Arrival in the Dark—fiction from Alireza Iranmehr
Away from prying eyes, two lonely people pass time together under the state of emergency that has become Iran.
“Here, Freedom”—fiction from Danial Haghighi
A small town couple have a brutally honest conversation about marriage in light of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.
“The Cactus”—new fiction from Mohammed Al Naas
Can a man who loves a woman prove his mettle by taking proper care of a cactus that stings him with its spines?
“The Agency”—a story by Natasha Tynes
A shrewd businesswoman runs a matchmaking agency in Amman that finds brides for male clients based on a virginity scale.
We Saw Paris, Texas—a story by Ola Mustapha
In Ola Mustapha's new story, a man falls for the seduction of a film and it becomes the blueprint for love, life, and even death.