21 Shareable Short Stories by Women for the Shortest Day of the Year

As is our tradition for December 21, a list of 21 short stories for the shortest day of the year.

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“Just Different,” Malika Moustadraf, trans Alice Guthrie

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“The Rally of the Sixth of April,” by Stella Gaitano, translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, Salah Mohamed El Hassan Osman, and Abed Haddad

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“How to Swim the Backstroke with a Shilka Missile” by Rasha Abbas, tr. Fatima El-Kalay, shortlisted for the 2018 ArabLit Story Prize

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“و,” by Colette Bahna, tr. Robin Moger, from Issue 17 of The Common magazine. 

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“Steps Astray,” by Rania Mamoun, from her collection Thirteen Months of Sunrise, tr. Elisabeth Jacquette.

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“I Will Leave, without Lying Down on the Dewy Grass Even Once,” by Noor Dakerli, tr. Alice Guthrie, published in Words Without Borders

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“A Fish in Search of Its Limbs,” by Sherin Younis, tr. Enas El-Torky, published in ArabLit Quarterly

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“Spiders,” Camellia Hussein, tr. Basma Ghalayini, published in Adda magazine

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“Tunnels,” by Hadiya Hussein, tr. Shakir Mustafa, winner of the 2020 ArabLit Story Prize

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“Dead Man’s Hand,” by Shahla Ujayli, tr. Sawad Hussain, published in Bed for the King’s Daughter.

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“The Route Through Purgatory,” by Omayma Abdullah, tr. Nassir al-Sayed al-Nour, published by the Short Story Project

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“Dance,” by Widyan Almasarani, tr. Basma Ghalayini for Adda magazine.

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“He Put Me in a Bubble,” by Marwa Melhem, tr. Basma Ghalayini for Adda magazine.

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“Hair or No Hair,” by Raghad Qasim, tr. Zeena Faulk, published in ArabLit Quarterly

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“The Mauve Planet,” Safia Ketou, trans. Nadia Ghanem, published on ArabLit

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“Pearls on a Branch,” from the collection of folktales Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales, ed. Najlaa Khoury, tr. Inea Bushnaq.

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“Disappointments (and a Few Clarifications),” by Basma al-Nsour, trans Andrew Leber, published in The Common

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“The Drowned,” by Amal Al Banna, translated by Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi, published in ArabLit

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“Silence,” by Adania Shibli, trans. Randa Jarrar, for Words Without Borders

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“The Way to Poppy Street,” Rachida el-Charni, trans. Piers Amodia, from Banipal

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“Mehret, or Sakina as She Calls Herself” by Bwader Basheer, translated by Robin Moger, published in The Common