“The Long Walk of the Martyr”—fiction from Salar Abdoh
In Salar Abdoh’s new short story, Iranian militias return from war to a life and country to which they have difficulty adjusting.
TMR 33 • Stories From The Markaz
If pictures are worth a thousand words then short stories are worth a thousand-and-one. The Markaz Review’s double 2023 summer literary issue features short stories, memoir, plays, a graphic novel, and creative nonfiction, some of which appears in English for the first time, translated from Arabic or Persian, with wide-ranging themes, from from domestic abuse in Egypt to multiracial relationships in London and queer life in Beirut.
STAMP ME—a monologue by Yussef El Guindi
Yussef El Guindi explores an anxious traveler's mind racing with thoughts of what to say as he faces border and customs control.
In Shahrazad’s Hammam—fiction by Ahmed Awadalla
Ahmed Awadalla’s new story reveals sexual pleasure and doubt in a bathhouse in Beirut.
The Ship No One Wanted—a story by Hassan Abdulrazak
Can a crush on a teacher survive marriage, revolution, and a sinking, refugee dingy on the Mediterranean Sea?
Inside the Giant Fish—excerpt from Rawand Issa’s graphic novel
In Rawand Issa's "Inside the Giant Fish," a girl looks for her lost memories on a beach that no longer exists.
Naar, Are You illuminated?
A fiction that celebrates the indomitable spirit of women who embrace their agency.
“Nadira of Tlemcen”—fiction from Abdellah Taïa
Sometimes you have to escape everything you know in order to become yourself.
Abortion Tale: On Our Ground
In Ghadeer Ahmed's latest story, three women with no abortion rights refuse to be victims of exploitation and blackmail.
Hayat and the Rain—fiction from Mona Alshammari
The power of the imagination may not be enough to save a young girl’s hopes when faced with rural poverty.
On Ice—fiction from Malu Halasa
In an excerpt from an unpublished novella by Malu Halasa, ice skating in the desert is more than just a sport.
Tears from a Glass Eye—a story by Samira Azzam
Samira Azzam was a Palestinian short story writer whose work influenced her more famous successor, Ghassan Kanafani.
Genesis and East Cairo—fiction from Shady Lewis Botros
In this excerpt from Shady Lewis Botros' latest novel, a child’s innocent counting game masks a disturbing reality.