New: A Monthly Newsletter for Publishing Professionals about Arabic Literature & Translation

Since 2009, we at ArabLit has been bringing news, reviews, commentary, translations, lists, sample syllabi and more to the community interested in Arabic literature & translation. In the last 13+ years, we have gotten to know many translators, scholars, publishers, writers, literary agents, scouts, reviewers, and others who are passionate about Arabic literature and translation, and now we want to distill and share what we’ve learned — on a monthly basis — for publishing professionals. This will primarily be for publishers who are interested in works translated from Arabic, but also into Arabic.

This “pay as you can” newsletter will not be a roundup of our activities at ArabLit. For that, you can subscribe to the website. Instead, it will be a look outward at what’s going on broadly in the field.

Regular features will include:

*Literary trending topics

What’s new, interesting, fresh, popular? We’ll check in with bookclub organizers, booktokkers, bookstagrammers, and other avid readers to hear what they’re talking about. 

*Award-winners

This feature will offer a look at books recognized by the some of the top literary awards in Arabic, including the Almultaqa Prize in Kuwait, the Sawiris Prize in Egypt, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction out of the UAE, and other select literary prizes. 

*Upcoming events

We will offer a glimpse of a selection of upcoming book fairs, publishing events, online talks, and more.

*Literary agent or scout spotlight

This feature will focus on a literary agent or scout who works with Arabic literature and translation

*Translator spotlight

This feature will look at an excellent, sometimes lesser-known translator working between Arabic and another language, often English.

*Publisher spotlight

This feature will focus on an Arabic-language publisher who does particularly strong work.

*Grants, subsidies, & support

This will focus on any upcoming translation grants or subsidies, particularly for literature being translated into or out of Arabic.

*Arabic literature for young readers

For those interested in Arabic literature for young readers, we will have a regular feature on what’s new in the world of kid lit.

You can sign up at https://arablit.substack.com and expect our first non-introductory newsletter on May 15, 2023.