The title here is borrowed from the French edition, Un goût de thé amer, which was translated by Sarah Rolfo, while the Arabic original is titled العراك في جهنم. This satirical novella is set in a Libyan village called Hell and is a retelling of events our narrator claims took place there in the 1990s.
The winners are set to be announced at the Sharjah International Book Fair, on November 4, 2026.
“We never knew that things could disappear all at once, and that memory alone could become the only place to come home to.”
“Barakat is forthright, crude, and uncensored in his writings, and he was the same in his responses to my questions. He paints a prophetic picture, neither for himself nor for anyone else.”
This short fiction comes from Ansam Abu Sitta’s collection Bench of the Reserves.
As in previous years, there are a preponderance of European and North American nominees, with fourteen from the UK, twelve from the US, ten from France, and nine from Italy. However, there are also a surprising seven nominees from Palestine.
“So we open our mouths, / not to scream, / but to release the silence.”
These two stories both come from Palestinian writer and psychologist Dr. Hassan Al-Qatrawi. Hunger’s Siege on Gaza By Dr. Hassan Al-Qatrawi Translated by Munira El Najar Two hours of persistent […]
It’s publication day for May Ziadeh’s Musings of a Young Woman, the second title in our ERASED NOT FORGOTTEN series, ed. Ibtihal Rida Mahmood. In honor of the release, we share scholar-translator Dana Al Shahbari’s introduction to the volume, which you can find in our store and in select bookshops worldwide.
