An Open Letter in Support of Adania Shibli’s ‘Minor Detail’ and Palestinian Literary Voices

These recent, terrible days have seen — in several European countries — a closing-off and shutting down of cultural events that bring forward Palestinian art, voices, and stories.

There was the mayor of Choisy-le-Roi’s halt of the staging of the play “And Here I Am,” written by by Hassan Abdulrazzak, based around the coming-of-age story of actor-director Ahmed Tobasi, born in Jenin during the first intifada. There was the stopping of the book launch for A Day in the Life of Abed Salama in London, stopped for “security concerns.”

And at the Frankfurt Book Fair — the largest and most important international book fair, set to run October 18-23 — has closed off space for Adania Shibli and her novel Minor Detail while simultaneously issuing a statement that they stood “with complete solidarity on the side of Israel,” and that they wanted to make Jewish and Israeli voices “especially visible at the fair.”

In response to the closing of space for Palestinian literary voices, the wrongful claim that Adania Shibli was consulted about this decision, the attacks on Shibli’s novel in the German press, we organized a letter of support for Adania Shibli, for Minor Detail, and for the importance of Palestinian literary voices at Frankfurt Book Fair and beyond. In the last two days, it has been circulated mostly from email account to email account, receiving signatures that included Nobel Prize laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah, Annie Ernaux, and Olga Tokarczuk; Booker Prize winners Anne Enright, Richard Flanagan and Ian McEwan; 2021 winner of the Litprom prize Pilar Quintana and 2015 winner Madeleine Thien; dozens of publishers and literary agents; as well as many concerned writers from around the globe. There are now more than 1,300 signatories.

The letter opens:

Shibli’s US publisher, Barbara Epler of New Directions, wrote a letter to the editor of The New York Times, which we excerpt here: 

With the unbelievable heartbreak that is now being suffered on all sides, it serves no one to put forward falsehoods, especially about the author of a novel about the Nakba that is so historically true. 

To cancel the ceremony and so try to silence the voice of Adania Shibli —“due to the war in Israel”—is cowardly. 

But to say Shibli agreed (amid all the suffering in Gaza) is worse.

At a time when the fair has issued a statement saying it wants to make Israeli voices “especially visible at the fair,” they are closing out the space for a Palestinian voice.

While Shibli’s Minor Detail has been smeared as being anti-Semitic by two journalists and literary editors, other serious literary critics have clearly refuted this in the German press and elsewhere. The book makes reference to well-documented events related to the rape of a Bedouin girl in 1949 by an Israeli army unit. 

Shibli’s UK publisher, Jacques Testard of Fitzcarraldo, writes, “One of the purposes of literature is to encourage understanding and dialogue between cultures. At a time of such horrific violence and heartbreak, the world’s biggest book fair has a duty to champion literary voices from Palestine and Israel. We stand in solidarity with Adania Shibli and her German publishers, Berenberg Verlag.”

In this spirit, those of us involved in writing, translation, and publishing strongly assert that canceling cultural events is not the way forward. We recall the Frankfurt book fair supporting Turkish publishers, and how last year Ukrainian president Zelensky spoke to the fair in a pre-recorded address. The Frankfurt Book Fair has a responsibility, as a major international book fair, to be creating spaces for Palestinian writers to share their thoughts, feelings, reflections on literature through these terrible, cruel times, not shutting them down.

We need to look for new language and new ideas in order to approach these bleak times in a new way. For this, we need writers—including Palestinian writers—more than ever.

We want to honor the participation and solidarity of every person on the list. Apologies to everyone whose letters of support are still in our inboxes; we will be adding more as we can.

The letter is signed by:

MINOR DETAIL TEAM

Rana Idriss, Dar al-Adab, Arabic publisher of Minor Detail

Ana Paula Hisayama, Todavia, Brazilian publisher of Minor Detail

Chris de Jong, Koppernik, publisher of Minor Detail in the Netherlands

Daniel Álvarez, Hoja de Lata Editorial, Spanish publisher of Minor Detail

Laura Sandoval, publisher, Hoja de Lata Editorial, Asturies

Djûke Poppinga, Dutch translator of Minor Detail

Elisabeth Jaquette, English translator of Minor Detail

Elisabetta Sgarbi, publisher, La Nave di Teseo, Italian publisher of Minor Detail

Günther Orth, German translator of Minor Detail

Salvador Peña Martín, Spanish translator of Minor Detail

Safa Jubran, Brazilian Portuguese translator of Minor Detail

Hugo Maia, European Portuguese translator of Minor Detail

Jonathan Morén, Swedish translator of Minor Detail

Farouk Mardam-Bey, Actes Sud/Sindbad, French publisher of Minor Detail

Halfdan Freihow, Cappelen Damm, publisher of Minor Detail in Norway

Jacques Testard, Fitzcarraldo, UK publisher of Minor Detail

Johannes Holmqvist, Tranan, publisher of Minor Detail in Sweden

Mehmet Hakkı Suçin, Turkish translator of Minor Detail

Didem Bayindir, managing editor, Can Yayinlari, Turkish publisher of Minor Detail

Jung Hongsoo, publisher of Minor Detail in Korea

Filip Fierek, Agata Chmielecka, Wydawnictwo Drzazgi, publishers of Minor Detail in Poland

Michael Heyward, Publisher, The Text Publishing Company, Australia and New Zealand publisher of Minor Detail

Monica Ruocco, Italian translator of Minor Detail

Penny Hueston, Senior Editor, The Text Publishing Company, Australia and New Zealand publisher of Minor Detail

Şirin Etik, managing editor, Canyayinlari, Turkish publisher of Minor Detail

Stefanos Batsis of Plithos, Greek publisher of Minor Detail

Stéphanie Dujols, French translator of Minor Detail

Hanna Jankowska, Polish translator of Minor Detail

PUBLISHERS AND EDITORS

Simona Gabrieli, publisher Alifbata

Joyelle McSweeney and Johannes Göransson, editors, Action Books

Stefan Tobler, publisher, And Other Stories

Tara Tobler, senior editor, And Other Stories

Michael Watson, UK Publicist, And Other Stories

María Rán Guðjónsdóttir, publisher, Angústúra

Jill Schoolman, publisher, Archipelago Books

Sarah Gale, editor, Archipelago Books

Emma Raddatz, editor, Archipelago Books

Gianni Schilardi, publisher, Argo Editrice, Italian publisher of Sensi (Touch) and of the collection of short stories Pallidi segni di quiete

Askold Melnyczuk, editor, Arrowsmith Press

Diane Mehta, poet, Arrowsmith Press

Brian Lam, publisher, Arsenal Pulp Press

Rachel Levitsky, publisher, Belladonna* Collaborative

Jan Marti, publisher, Blackie Books

Neil Astley, editor & managing director, Bloodaxe Books Ltd

Francisco Vilhena, translator and managing editor, Bloomsbury

Kevin Duffy, publisher, Bluemoose Books

Hazel Millar, co-publisher, Book*hug Press

Gavin Everall, director, publishing, Book Works

Jamie Byng, CEO, Canongate Books

Anna Frame, Communications Director, Canongate Books

Kendall Store, editor-in-chief Catapult Books

Elaine Katzenberger, Executive Director and Publisher, City Lights Booksellers and Publishers

Mark Haber, Director of Marketing, Coffee House Press

Jeremy M. Davies, Executive Editor, Coffee House Press

Ra Page and Basma Ghalayini, publishers, Comma Press

Farhana Shaikh, publisher, Dahlia Books

Firoze Manji, Daraja Press

Marigold Atkey, publisher Daunt Books

Noah M. Mintz, marketing coordinator, Deep Vellum

Sarah McEachern, Rights Director, Deep Vellum

Sara Balabanlilar, Director of Marketing and Sales, Deep Vellum

David Richardson, editor, dispersed holdings

Editions du remue-menage

Monika Lustig van Diesen, Publisher Edition Converso, Karlsruhe / Germany

Stephan Trudewind, publisher, Edition Orient, Berlin

Mylène Bouchard, Literary director, Editions La Peuplade

Martina Testa, Edizioni SUR, Italy

John Hatt, Eland Books

Eugene Lim, publisher, Ellipsis Press

Kenza Sefrioui, editor, En Toutes Lettres, Morocco

Emmie Francis, editor at Faber and Faber

Tiziana Triana, editor-in-chief of Fandango Libri, (Rome)

Fabio Muzi Falconi, editor, Feltrinelli

Sasha, Achille and Renae, publishers, 5ever Books

Nii Ayikwei Parkes, writer, publisher, flipped eye publishing

Folio Books, Pakistan

Simón Vázquez, publisher Ediciones Akal, Spain

Ariadna Akal, publisher Ediciones Akal, Spain

Esther Prieto, publisher Trabe Editorial, Asturies

Samuel Castro, publisher Trabe Editorial, Asturies

Zacarías Lara, publisher Barrett Editorial, Spain

Manuel Burraco, publisher Barrett Editorial, Spain

Ana Roza, publisher Delallama Editorial, Asturies

Daniel Moreno, publisher Capitán Swing, Spain

Laura Huerga, publisher Raig Verd Editorial, Catalonia

Ioannis Kranias, publisher Entypois Publications, Vice president of Hellenic Federation of Publishers and Booksellers

Almudena Cardeñoso, publisher Duermevela Editorial, Asturies

Rebeca Cardeñoso, publisher, Duermevela Editorial, Asturies

Hassan Ali, Faber Factory Manager, Faber & Faber

Tamara Sampey-Jawad, Associate Publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions

Donatella Ianuzzi, publisher, Gallo Nero Editorial, Spain 

Daniel Osca, publisher Sajalín Editores, Catalonia

Seif Salmawy, publisher, Al Karma Publishers

Mikel Buldain, publisher Txalaparta Liburuak, Basque Country

Garazi Arrula, editor Txalaparta Liburuak, Basque Country

Ane Eslava editor Txalaparta Liburuak, Basque Country

Kishani Widyaratna, publisher, 4th Estate

Alan Giagnocavo, CEO and publisher, Fox Chapel Publishing

Dan Machlin, executive editor, Futurepoem

Barbara Schwepcke, publisher, Gingko Books

Jason Arthur, Associate Publishing Director, Granta Books

Rachael Allen, editor, Granta Books, and lecturer at Queen Mary University

Ethan Nosowsky, Graywolf Press

Federica Manzon, writer, editorial director of the Italian publishing house Guanda

Ami Tian, Hachette Book Group

Julie Fain, publisher, Haymarket Books

Beatrice Merz, director of hopefulmonster publishing house

Michel S. Moushabeck, publisher, Interlink Publishing

Norm Nehmetallah, publisher, Invisible Publishing

Andrea Morstabilini, editor, Iperborea

Cristina Gerosa, editorial director, Iperborea

Marco Agosta, Iperborea

Pietro Biancardi, publisher, Iperborea

Hazal Baydur, foreign rights, ​​İthaki Yayınları

Helena Cobban, CEO, Just World Books

Emily Dewhurst, Kitchen Press

Nasim Mawji, Kitchen Press

Karam Youssef, publisher, Al Kotob Khan for Publishing

Lorenzo Ribaldi, publisher, La Nuova Frontiera – Italy

Maria Leonardi, acquiring editor, La Nuova Frontiera

Luigi Lorusso, publisher, Lorusso Editore

Simón Vázquez, Manifest Llibres, Catalonia

E. Tracy Grinnell, publisher, Litmus Press

Adrian and Gracie Cooper, publishers, Little Toller Books and Pineapple Lane

Adam Shatz, writer, US editor of The London Review of Books

Brian Lewis, publisher, Longbarrow Press

Alexandre Sanchez, Lux Éditeur

Katharina Bielenberg, Publisher, MacLehose Press

Yara El Ghadban, author and editor, Mémoire d’encrier, Montréal

Anita Magno, editor, Mesogea, Italy

Abid Nouri, Med Ali editions (Tunisie)

Müge Sökmen, Metis Publishers

Daniel Slager, publisher & CEO, Milkweed Editions 

Valeria Bergalli, publisher, Minúscula

Laura di Pietro, Editora Tabla, Brazil

Christopher MacLehose, MacLehose Press

Archna Sharma, publisher, Neem Tree Press

Jeffrey Yang, editor, New Directions

Tynan Kogane, senior editor, New Directions

Declan Spring, New Directions

Mieke Chew, New Directions

Edwin Frank, editor, New York Review of Books

Susan Barba, senior editor, New York Review of Books

Stephen Motika, director & publisher, Nightboat Books

Azadeh Parsapour, Nogaam publishing

Andrea Gessner, publisher Nottetempo

Judith Gurewich, publisher, Other Press

John Oakes, OR Books

Annette Michael, publisher, Orlanda Verlag

Zainab Juma, Head of Brand, Penguin Books UK

Kaliane Bradley, writer and commissioning editor at Penguin Press

Doni Ahmadi, editor & publisher, Penerbit Anagram, Indonesia

Mary Mount, publisher, Picador

Richard Porter, editor, Pilot Press

Neda Tehrani, commissioning editor, Pluto Press

Ramsey Kanaan, publisher, PM Press

Kyle Dacuyan, Executive Director of The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s

Lara Bitar, publisher, The Public Source

Valentina Parlato, foreign rights QUODLIBET publishing house, Italy

Severino Antonelli, Rizzoli foreign fiction editor, Italy

Kapil Kapoor, Managing Director, Roli Books, India

James Sherry, editor, Roof Books

Lynn Gaspard, publisher Saqi Books

Elizabeth Briggs, Editorial Director, Saqi Books

Sara Hunt, publisher, Saraband

Maria Garbutt-Lucero, publicity director, Sceptre

Naveen Kishore, publisher, Seagull Books

Mohamed El-Baaly, Sefsafa Publishing (Egypt)

Hedi El Kholti, publisher, Semiotext(e)

Dan Simon, publisher, Seven Stories Press

Allison Tamarkin Paller, Seven Stories Press

Tal Mancini, Seven Stories Press

James Webster, Seven Stories Press

Sarah Shin, director, Silver Press

Sonia Draga, managing director, Sonia Draga Publishers, Poland

Tony Simpson, publisher, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation/Spokesman Books

Stuart Debar, Creative Director, SRL Publishing

Beth de Guzman, deputy publisher, SVP

Karolina Bednarz, publisher, Tajfuny

Fergus Barrowman, publisher, Te Herenga Waka University Press

Kristen Vida Alfaro, director, Tilted Axis Press

Nuzhat Abbas, publisher/director of trace press

Adam Levy, publisher, Transit Books

Ashley Nelson Levy, publisher, Transit Books

Michael Holtmann, Center for the Art of Translation | Two Lines Press

CJ Evans, editor in chief, Two Lines Press

Anna Moschovakis, Ugly Duckling Presse

Daniel Owen, Ugly Duckling Presse

Kyra Simone, Ugly Duckling Presse

Lee Norton, Ugly Duckling Presse

Marine Cornuet, Ugly Duckling Presse

Michael Newton, Ugly Duckling Presse

Milo Wippermann, Ugly Duckling Presse

Rebekah Smith, Ugly Duckling Presse

Serena Solin, Ugly Duckling Presse

Silvina Lopez Medin, Ugly Duckling Presse

Yelena Gluzman, Ugly Duckling Presse

Aliya Gulamani, Commissioning Editor at Unbound

Leo Hollis, Verso Books, London

Jennifer Tighe, Verso Books, London

Catherine Smiles, Verso Books, UK

Tim Thomas, Verso Books, NYC

Anthony Korum, Verso Books, NYC

Ritu Menon, publisher, Women Unlimited

Ayrıntı Yayınları Publishing House, Turkey

Ellah P. Wakatama, publisher and literary critic

Rebecca Byers, publishing consultant

Michael Katz, Publisher of Tradewind Books

Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Editor, Skein Press

Gráinne O’ Toole, Editor, Skein Press

Fionnuala Cloke, Editor, Skein Press

Jake Casella Brookins, Publishing Editor, Ancillary Review of Books

Chiki Sarkar, publisher, Juggernaut Books

Paula Serraller, publisher Editorial Fudamentos, Spain

Kaiya Shang, commissioning editor at Chatto & Windus

Sudhanva Deshpande, managing editor, LeftWord Books

Najet Miled, French editor, Averroes éditions

Jeronimo Hernandez, publisher, Ediciones 2010, Spain

Sam Dauer, production editor, Macmillan Publishers

Helen Rouner, assistant editor, Penguin Press

Kwame Fraser, Publisher Dundurn Press/Rare Machines

Bridget Farrell, executive editor, Bullaun Press, Ireland

Laura Fish, acquiring editor, Syracuse University Press

Estelle Lemaître, Communication Director, Actes Sud

Anne-Sylvie Bameule, President of Actes Sud, France

Rida Vaquas, Senior Editor, Oneworld Publications

Jurgen Maas, Publishing House Jurgen Maas, The Netherlands

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Publishing Director and co-founder, Cassava Republic Press

Layla Mohamed, Editor, Cassava Republic Press

Anthony Anaxagorou, Editor, Out-Spoken Press

Patricia Ferguson, Publishing Coordinator, Out-Spoken Press

Jude Gates, Faber and Faber

Mo Hafeez, Commissioning Editor, Faber and Faber

Kyla Farmer, Mi’kma’ki Afrikan writer and publisher, Freda Press

Daniel Bristow, publisher, 1968 Press

Graham Smith, publisher, 1968 Press

Jaice Sara Titus, publisher, 1968 Press

Imogen Whiteley, Digital Assistant, Faber and Faber

Avinoam J. Stillman, Publisher, Blima Books

Isabella Checcaglini, Ypsilon éditeur, France

Tabea Nixdorff, publisher, Archival Textures

David Campbell, publisher, Everyman’s Library

Walter Bgoya, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es salaam

Mehr Husain, publisher, Zuka Books

David Murray, editor, Éditions Écosociété, Montréal

Gustavo Faraon, publisher, Dublinense

Simón Vázquez, Verso Libros / Manifest Llibres

emuse publishing house, Italy

Sulaiman Adebowale, Amalion Publishers, Dakar

AGENTS, MEDIA & LITERARY JOURNALS & LITERARY FESTIVALS

Nora Caplan-Bricker, executive editor, Jewish Currents

Arielle Angel, editor-in-chief, Jewish Currents

Nathan Goldman, managing editor, Jewish Currents

Miro Lucassen, chairman of Auteursbond, Authors guild of the Netherlands

PEN Vlaanderen

Daniel Gorman, director, English PEN

Will Forrester, writer and Translation & International Manager at English PEN

Burhan Sonmez, President of PEN International

Nicole Aragi, literary agent, Aragi Inc.

Christine Tohmeh, Director of Ashkal Alwan

Samar Hammam, Rocking Chair Book Literary Agency

Daisy Chandley, associate agent

Yasmine Jraissati, literary agent, RAYA Agency

Laura Susijn, literary agent, The Susijn Agency Ltd

Marin Takikawa, literary agent, The Friedrich Agency

Molly Friedrich, literary agent and President of The Friedrich Agency

Lucy Carson, literary agent, The Friedrich Agency

Heather Carr, literary agent, The Friedrich Agency

Hannah Brattesani, literary agent, The Friedrich Agency

Iwalani Kim, literary agent, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

Seren Adams, literary agent

Róisín Davis, agent, Roam Agency

Cole Hildebrand, literary agent

Katharine Halls, translator, 10/11 literary agency

Sandra Hetzl, translator, 10/11 literary agency

Alice Guthrie, translator, 10/11 literary agency

Mina Yakinya, rights assistant, Bonnier Books UK

Fida Touma, Director General, A.M. Qattan Foundation

Katie Freeman, Cento Lit

Paul Hermans, managing director, Flanders Institute

Marieke Roels, head of international affairs, Flanders Institute

Karen M. Phillips, executive director & publisher, Words Without Borders

Susan Harris, editorial director, Words Without Borders

Eric M. B. Becker, translator, Words Without Borders

Anna Claire Weber, marketing and communications manager, Words Without Borders

Nina Perrotta, editor and development manager, Words Without Borders

Rasha Salti, Commissioning Editor, Arte France

Léopold Lambert, editor-in-chief, The Funambulist

Rima Rantisi, Editor, Rusted Radishes

Christopher Merrill, Director, International Writing Program, The University of Iowa

Yasemin Çongar, founder, Istanbul Literature House

Olivia Maidment, literary agent, Madeleine Milburn Agency

Akin Akinwumi, founder, Willenfield Literary Agency

Jeffrey Pethybridge, poet, Director, Summer Writing Program, Naropa University

Zeina Maasri academic (UK) and editor @ Journal of Visual Culture

John Freeman, editor

Peter Straus, RCW Literary Agency

Laurence Laluyaux, RCW Literary Agency

Safae El-Ouahabi, Associate, RCW Literary Agency

Anna Soler-Pont, Pontas literary and film agency

Merve Diler, Kalem Agency

Nermin Mollaoğlu, founder, Kalem Agency

Ayser Ali, Ayser Ali Agency

Hans Petter Bakketeig, Stilton Literary Agency, Norway

Pierre Astier, Laure Pécher, Astier-Pécher Literary Agency

Frieda Afary, Iranian American author, librarian, co-chair of PEN America’s Translation Committee

Angelique Tran Van Sang, Felicity Bryan Associates

Sana Goyal, Deputy Editor, Wasafiri magazine

Emily Mercer, Editor and Publishing Director, Wasafiri magazine

Kristian Evans, poet and editor of Modron magazine

Jessica Craig, Craig Literary Agency

Christabel McKinley, literary agent

Ajit Baral, publisher/writer/translator, Nepal

Maddalena Vaglio Tanet, author and scout at De Stefano Literary Scouting

Maria Moschioni, literary scout

Brianna Zimmerman, Senior Scout Mary Anne Thompson Associates

Bhakti Shringarpure, writer & editor, co-founder of Radical Books Collective

Chiara Comito, Editoriaraba and Arabpop

Jim Hicks, executive editor, The Massachusetts Review

Kerry C. Byrne, Publisher, Augur Magazine Literary Society

Nausikaa Angelotti, editor, Specimen 

Vanni Bianconi, writer, editor at Specimen 

Valentina Parlato, foreign rights, QUODLIBET

Lydia Wilson, editor New Lines magazine

Negar Azimi, writer, and editor-in-chief, Bidoun

Anna Della Subin, author and editor, Bidoun

Alexandra Büchler, Literature Across Frontiers

Sina Najafi, Editor-in-chief of Cabinet: A Magazine of Art and Culture

William Pierce, writer and co editor of AGNI

Shuchi Saraswat, writer and Senior Editor at AGNI 

Matvei Yankelevich, editor, World Poetry Books

Marcia Lynx Qualey, founder ArabLit and ArabLit Quarterly

Declan Meade, publisher, The Stinging Fly

Mairi Oliver, owner, Lighthouse Bookshop, Edinburgh

Nadia Saeed, Translation and International Officer, English PEN

Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company

Rafel Arias, bookseller

Guillermo Granado, bookseller

Oriol Díaz, bookseller

Verónica Piñera, bookseller

Luis Gallego, bookseller

Ross Bradshaw, Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham

Mahmoud Muna, Educational Bookshop, Jerusalem

Ángel de la Calle, Illustrator and Semana Negra Literary Festival Director, Spain

Steve Dickison, director of the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University

Paloma Saiz, Zócalo International Book Fair Director, Mexico

Kholod Saghir, Artistic Director, Uppsala International literary festival, Sweden

Windy Ariestanty, patjarmerah, the traveling literacy festival and book market, Indonesia

Louise Adler, director, Adelaide Writers’ Week

Ilke Froyen, Director Passa Porta International Festival of Literature

Pierce Alquist, director, Transnational Literature Series

Ulrike Freitag, director, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient

The Mosaic Rooms

Brixton Review of Books

Ingrid Haug Erstad, Director of Bergen Assembly (Triennial for Contemporary Art), Bergen, Norway

Kirsten Wandschneider, Bergen Assembly

Christophe Rémond, publisher and literary agent, Festina Lente Cie, Paris, France

Sarah Khalil, literary agent, Calligraph

Ghazal Mosadeq, Editor in Chief, Pamenar Press

Sverre Pedersen, Chair of Freemuse Executive Committee

Fátima del Olmo Rodríguez, Bookseller at Ibercultura, Lucerne, Switzerland

Leonie Rau, assistant editor, ArabLit and ArabLit Quarterly

Brad Johnson, owner of East Bay Booksellers, Oakland, California

Isabella Kajiwara, writer & editor at shado magazine

Nihad Sirees, novelist

Shirin Saeidi, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas

Alfons H Teipen, Professor of Religion, Co-chair, Middle East and Islamic Studies Interdisciplinary Minor, Furman University

Dr Mohamed Mathee, Senior Lecturer, Study of Religion, University of Johannesburg

Friederike Pannewick, Philipps-Universität Marburg

Daniela Potenza, researcher of Arabic Literature at Messina University (Italy)

Astrid Ottosson al-Bitar, Senior lecturer in Arabic, Stockholm University

Sarah Ahmad, writer, student at UMass-Amherst, poetry editor, Guernica Magazine

Alex Tan, Assistant Managing Editor, Asymptote Journal

Samantha Schnee, founding editor, Words Without Borders

Madeline Wallace, literary agent at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

Agata Krajewska, ArtRage

Michał Michalski, writer and publisher, ArtRage

Krzysztof Cieślik, translator and editor, ArtRage

Karolina Cieślik-Jakubiak, essayist, journalist, ArtRage

Susanne Kaluza, director, House of Literature

Laura Palomares, Agencia Literaria Carmen Balcells, Spain

Daisy Chandley, Associate Agent

Aisha Hamed, Director of Fikra Magazine

Celina Tran, Editor-in-Chief at Erato Magazine

Renée Zuckerbrot, agent

WRITERS, EDITORS, ACADEMICS & ARTISTS

Tilda Swinton, actor, filmmaker, writer, Scotland

Khalid Abdalla, actor

Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, critic

Abdulrazak Gurnah, author

Annie Ernaux, author

R.O. Kwon, author

Sophie Mackintosh, author

Olga Tokarczuk, author

Susan Howe, writer

John Keene, writer

Mathias Enard, writer

Will Alexander, writer

Anne Carson, poet and essayist

Robert Currie, artist

Edouard Louis, writer

Didier Eribon, author

Geoffroy de Lagasnerie, author

Xiaolu Guo, author and filmmaker

Julia Armfield, author

Anne Enright, author

Valeria Luiselli, author

Evie Wyld, author

Simone Buchholz, novelist, Germany

Noreen Masud, author

Nadifa Mohamed, author

Asmaa Azaizeh, poet, Haifa

Juliet Jacques, writer and filmmaker

Deepa Anappara, author

Pankaj Mishra, author

Etan Nechin, writer

Heather Parry, author

John McGregor, author

Mohammed El-Kurd, writer

Nikesh Shukla, author

Edmund Gordon, author

Dur e Aziz Amna, author

Jenna Clake, author

Wajdi al-Ahdal, author

Shannon Chakraborty, author

Samuel Fisher, author

Emily Kenway, author

Jay Gao, author

Rabih Alameddine, author

Hartmut Fähndrich, translator, former lecturer of Arabic Civilization; Bern, Switzerland

Jay Bernard, writer

Katie Goh, author

Laura Linares, academic and translator

Lucy North, translator

Rashmi Sirdeshpande, author

Stephen Law, philosopher and author

Porochista Khakpour, author

Professor Wen-chin Ouyang, SOAS, University of London

Dr Mohja Kahf, professor of comparative literature, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.

Gonzalo Fernández Parrilla, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Sung Ryu, translator

Niamh Campbell, author

Yan Ge, author

Tawseef Khan, author

Roisin Dunnet, author

Kit Fan, author

Kathryn Bromwich, author

Eliza Clark, author

Jared Daniel Fagen, author

Sarah Bernstein, writer

Tatiana Salem Levy, author

Daniel Trilling, author

Annalena McAfee, author

Sinead Gleeson, author

Elaine Feeney, author 

Megan Nolan, author

Francesca Wade, author

Alice Slater, author

Sarvat Hasin, author

Alycia Pirmohamed, author

Mathelinda Nabugodi, author 

Maaza Mengiste, author

​​Kamila Shamsie, author

Wallace Shawn, actor and playwright

Rosie Bsheer, Associate Professor of History, Harvard University 

William Dalrymple, author

Noor Naga, author

Fatima Bhutto, author

Isabella Hammad, novelist

Gillian Slovo, novelist and playwright

Colm Tóibín author

Lauren Groff, novelist

Joe Sacco, cartoonist and journalist

Tim Winton, author

Olga Ravn, author

Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, author

Don Mee Choi, poet

Haytham El-Wardany, author

Philippe Sands, author

Hisham Matar, author

Ahdaf Soueif, author

Rawi Hage, author

Yasmine Seale, translator

Naomi Shihab Nye, poet

Molly Crabapple, author and artist

Leila Aboulela, writer

Naomi Klein, author

Judith Butler, author

Eliot Weinberger, writer

K Patrick, poet and writer 

Seán Hewitt, author

Jason Okundaye, author

Aidan Cottrell Boyce, author

Ryan Gilbey, author

Paul Bailey, author

Ali Millar, author

Maxine Peake, author and actor

Madeleine Thien, author

Caryl Churchill, playwright

Ben Ehrenreich, author

Sunny Singh, writer

James Schamus, film producer, director, and screenwriter

Hassan Abdulrazzak, playwright

Yasmin El-Rifae, writer

Marina Warner, author

Richard Flanagan, author

Robert Neuwirth, writer

Barbara Ofosu-Somuah, translator

Anton Shammas, author

Saleem Haddad, author

Samar Yazbek, author

Adam Thirlwell, author

Mohamed Kheir, author

Hari Kunzru, author

Ammiel Alcalay, poet and scholar

Solmaz Sharif, poet

Françoise Vergès, writer, producer, and scholar

Nicholas Blincoe, author

Monisha Rajesh, author

Mazen Maarouf, author

Anne Boyer, poet and essayist

Semih Gümüş, author

Daisy Lafarge, author

Kia Corthron, U.S. novelist and playwright

Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Professor of Modern Culture & Media and Comparative Literature, Brown University

Elias Sanbar, writer, essayist and translator of Mahmoud Darwish to French

Daniel Kennedy, translator

Mohammad Al Attar, Syrian writer / playwright

Ahmet Nesin, writer

Sarah Riggs, poet, co-director of Tamaas

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, professor emeritus and author

Eyal Weizman, author and architect

Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Trinidadian-Scottish poet and prose writer

Sema Kaygusuz, author

Eva Menasse, novelist, Berlin 

Mirza Waheed, writer

Iman Mersal, poet and writer

Zahra Moloo, journalist

Suzanne Joinson, author

Rani Selvarajah, author

Sharon Duggal, writer

Geo Maher, writer and educator

Rodrigo Hasbún, author

Laila Hourani, Palestinian/Syrian novelist

Courttia Newland, author

Jacqueline Feldman, writer

Julia Bell, author

Gregory Norminton, author

Jude Brown, novelist

Alexander Chee, author 

Iman Humaydan, author and PEN Lebanon board member

Jeremy Tiang, writer and translator

Huda J. Fakhreddine, translator, Associate Professor of Arabic Literature, University of Pennsylvania

Sabaa Tahir, writer

Klaudia Ruschkowski, author and translator

Jolanda Guardi, Dept. of Foreign Languages, Literature and Cultures, University of Turin, Italy

Aldo Nicosia, University of Bari

Rita Sakr, Assistant Professor of Postcolonial and Global Literatures, Maynooth University

Nancy Roberts, translator

Julia Sanches, translator

Jean-Pierre Orban, author and editor

Omar Berrada, writer and curator

Tomoé Hill, writer

Olivia Snaije, journalist

Najwa Binshatwan, author

susan abulhawa, novelist

Nashwa Nasreldin, writer and translator

Katy Derbyshire, translator and publisher

Akram Musallam, novelist, Palestine

Yazid Anani, curator, and scholar, Palestine

Ibrahim Abuhashhash, translator, and critic, Palestine

Hosam Aboul-Ela, translator

Rula Jurdi, novelist, poet

Yilin Wang, writer, editor, and translator

Nash Tysmans, writer

Corine Tachtiris, translator

Olivia Hellewell, translator

Paula Haydar, translator

Maan Abu Taleb, author

Lucas Stewart, author

Tess Lewis, writer and translator

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, writer.

Paola Caridi, journalist and historian

Jo Glanville, journalist and editor

Sharon Duggal, author

Malu Halasa, writer and editor

Erdoğan Aydın, Turkish journalist

Sabba Khan, author and artist

Kadir Akın, writer

Jillian Edelstein, photographer

Sherif Abdel Samad, novelist

Kira Josefsson, translator and writer

Max Weiss, Associate Professor of History, Princeton University

Alexandra Pringle, Silk Road Slippers

Yousef H. Alshammari, Kuwaiti writer and journalist

Mattia Carratello, Italian editor

Nicholas Glastonbury, Cultural Anthropologist and translator of Turkish and Kurdish

Evelina Santangelo, Italian writer and editor

Claudia Durastanti, journalist and translator

Lisa Hoffman-Kuroda, translator

Mansoura Ez-Eldin, author

Anny Gaul, writer and scholar

Ryan Ruby, author

Yazan al-Saadi, comic book writer, news editor, managing editor and hater of all things apartheid and genocidal

Michael Barron, writer

Maryam Rimi, writer and editor, Onyx magazine

Mustafa Orman, writer and documentarist

Ameena Hussein, Sri Lankan writer

Reuben Woolley, translator

Amar Mustafa, historian

Abi Palmer, artist and writer

Katherine Van de Vate, translator

Will Howard, translator

Kathleen Meredith, translator

Matthew Rice, poet, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Francesca Bratton, author

Elçin Sevgi Suçin, poet, Türkiye

Meghan Murphy, writer

Alexander Elinson, translator

Yassin Adnan, writer, Morocco

Ursula Lindsey, book critic and journalist

Sean Jacobs, faculty, The New School and publisher, Africa Is a Country

Gareth Evans, writer and editor

Paolo Pecere, Italian writer and Professor, University of Roma Tre

Brigid Keenan, author

Pradewi Tri Chatami, editor/translator, Marjin Kiri

Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, author

Peter Kalu, novelist

Ahmed Naji, writer

Ian McEwan, writer 

Souad Labbize, poet

Hannah Khalil, playwright and screenwriter

Nancy Kricorian, author

Alisa Lebow, writer and filmmaker

Jamila Ahmed, author

Lana Barkawi, Mizna

Mariam AlDoseri, educator and translator

Aamina Ahmad, writer

Mathilde Tamae-Bouhon, translator

Kelly Zhang, author & translator

Michelle Moyd, historian and writer

Catherine Coquio, writer and academic

Hannah Boast, academic

Hanna Johansson, author

Daisy Rockwell, translator

Vaibhav Sharma, translator

Alex Zucker, translator

Alta L. Price, translator

Sean Gasper Bye, translator

Susanna Lang, writer and translator

Deborah Smith, translator

Jacqueline Leung, translator

Esther Allen, City University of New York, writer and translator

Raphael Cormack, translator

Jonathan Wright, translator

Jessica Cohen, translator

Sam Wilder, translator

Robin Moger, translator

Richard Jacquemond, translator and academic

Richard Deming, poet

Sawad Hussain, translator

Orsola Casagrande, journalist and translator

Sulaiman Addonia, author

Eley Williams, writer

Nell Stevens, writer

Candice Carty-Williams, writer

Mark de Silva, writer

Danielle Dutton, editor

Lina Meruane, Chile, Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University

Susan Bernofsky, translator and author

Deborah Eisenberg, writer

Rachel Kushner, author 

Ece Temelkuran, author

Alia Trabucco Zeran, author

Keith Ridgway, author

Haluk Ünal, writer and filmmaker

Uxue Alberdil, Basque writer

Khairani Barokka, writer

Ruqaya Izzidien, novelist

Muhammad Aladdin, author

Boumediene Belkebir, novelist

Zaïneb Ben Lagha, academic

Hanan Issa, National Poet of Wales

Safaa Fathy, poet

Sandra Alland, author

Vazira Zamindar, History at Brown University

Noor Asif, writer and editor

Morgan Giles, translator

Jane Stemp (Wickenden), writer

Rosemarie Ho, writer

Dr Sabrin Hasbun, Palestinian writer and lecturer in creative writing

Yasmeen Hanoosh, author, translator, and professor

Suzanne Stetkevych, professor, Georgetown University

Nada Elshabrawy, PhD student and booktuber

Zora O’Neill, writer

Mish Green, writer

Lucie McKnight Hardy, writer

Başak Ertür, writer and translator

Binnie Kirshenbaum, author

Usman T. Malik, writer

Louie Stowell, author and illustrator

Charlotte Whittle, translator 

Charlotte Collins, translator

Pauline Melville, novelist

Karim Kattan, writer

David Constantine, poet, author, and translator

Areej Gamal, writer

Elhum Shakerifar, producer, Hakawati

Maïté Graisse, translator

Karen Featherstone, playwright

Gaye Boralıoğlu, screenwriter

Ayşegül Devecioğlu, writer

Stephen Sheehi, writer and scholar, William & Mary College

Sara Gube Josefsson, librarian

Christina Tudor-Sideri, author and literary translator

Andrea Facchin, researcher of Arabic language and literature, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy

Dalia Chams, journalist

Cherine Chams, academic

Samira Negrouche, poet

Marilyn Hacker, poet

Jonathan Lethem, novelist

Selma Dabbagh, writer

Patricia Klobusiczky, translator (Berlin)

Anwar Hamed, author

Ola Bog, poet, Norway

Lara Williams, author

Petra Dünges, translator of Arabic children’s literature into German, Saarbrücken, Germany

Shubha Sunder, author

Lisa Luxx, poet and short-story writer

Lindsey Moore, academic

Arif Anwar, author

Shash Trevett, poet and translator

Mikhail Zemskov, writer, Kazakhstan

Marcela Chahuan Zedan, Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Chile

Joanna Drugan, academic and writer

Zhraa Alhaboby, author

Meral Şimşek, Kurdish writer

George Prochnik, writer

Anselm Franke, curator and author

Lina Mounzer, writer

Paul Starkey, English translator of Adania Shibli’s We Are All Equally Far from Love

Kaya Tanış, Turkish author and editor

Ayfer Tunc, Turkish writer

Amy Abdelnoor, writer

Neslihan Onderoglu, Turkish writer

Niyazi Zorlu, writer

Simonetta Roncaglia, translator

Kaoutar Harchi, writer, sociologist

Andrew Ross, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University

Nia Davies, poet and writer

Maurice Chammah, author 

Emily Chammah, writer & editor

Bill Martin, translator and educator

Andrew Leber, translator

Marina Cravin, writer, Italy

María Fernanda Ampuero, writer

Claude Elkan, student and writer

Lucie Boase, lawyer

Melie Chen, editor and translator, Éditions Stock 

Mabel O Wilson, architect

Paul Thompson, literature scholar

Jeanette S. Jouili, associate professor of Religion, Syracuse University

Paige Aniyah Morris, writer and translator

Boris Dralyuk, poet and translator

Saba Imtiaz, writer

Amy Key, writer

Sevinaz Evdike, film director & writer, Rojava Kurdistan

Nariman Evdike, Rojava Kurdistan

Bee Rowlatt, writer

Kerri Arsenault, writer

Joseph E. Lowry, translator and Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

Shawkat Toorawa, translator and Professor of Arabic Literature at Yale University

Zilan Hemo, writer and film director, Rojava Kurdistan

Ahmet Haluk Ünal, writer

Khazan Jangiz, journalist and translator, Kurdistan Iraqi

C Pam Zhang, author

Ertuğrul Kürkçü, journalist and writer

Michele Catozzi, writer, Italy

Mariam Quraishi, author/illustrator

Caroline Dodds Pennock, historian and author

Hussein AH Omar, writer and historian, Egypt

Haleh Agar, author

Layla AlAmmar, novelist and academic

Kristine Ong Muslim, writer

Lara Vergnaud, translator

Nadia Wassef, writer and bookseller

Annie Webster, academic

Ciara Geraghty, novelist

Kathleen Maris Paltrineri, poet and translator

Janet Elizabeth Lee, translator and writer

Jamal Rayyis, Writer and board member of the Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association

Emily Gilbert, Professor, Canadian Studies and Geography & Planning, University of Toronto

Jasbir Puar, professor and activist

Simone Longo de Andrade, Human Rights Expert – Portugal

Natascha Bruce, translator

Fatin Abbas, writer

Michael Bronner, writer

Leyla Arsal, poet and critic

Naomi Frisby, writer

Emmanuel Dongala, writer

Feryal Tilmaç, writer

Aruni Kashyap, writer

Miriam Gordis, literary scout

Emanuele Bottazzi Grifoni, Italian poet

Atharva Pandit, author

Andy Hedgecock, writer,  journalist

Sophia Brown, academic

Olga Solombrino, Arabpop

Silvia Moresi, Arabpop

Fernanda Fischione, Arabpop

Jacqui Cornetta, writer and translator 

Allison Grimaldi Donahue, author and translator 

Max Delsohn, writer

Robin Yassin-Kassab, writer

Anna Gabai, Arabpop

Hafsah Aneela Bashir, writer, producer, performer

Lazer Lederhendler, translator

Abdourahman Waberi, writer

Gerty Dambury, writer, translator and founder, Decolonize the Arts

Nalo Hopkinson, writer

Max Porter, writer

Khaled Alesmael, writer

Benjamin Moser, writer

Maya Khamala Rolbin-Ghanie, writer

Oya Özaltın, editor

Ashish George, writer

Nisha Ramayya, writer and academic

Laila Sit Aboha, academic

Christian Hawkey, poet

Natalie Diaz, poet

Ece Citelbeg, Literary Translator

Faride Zerán, Chilean journalist 

Eileen Myles, poet

Sapphire, author

Preti Taneja, writer

Anna Metcalf, writer

Zeina Azzam, poet

Mona Kareem, writer, poet

Alejandra Oliva, writer and translator

Kelsi Vanada, translator

Kathryn Mockler, writer

Addie Leak, translator

Mahmud Rahman, writer

Salah Badis, writer & translator (Algeria)

Clare Richards, translator

RZ Baschir, writer

Samantha Rahmani, writer

Bruce Robbins, professor, Columbia University

Hannah Lillith Assadi, author 

Amayah Perveen, writer

Mira Mattar, writer

Abdelrahman ElGendy, Egyptian writer

Francesca Reece, writer

Hanane Hajj Ali, theatre maker, playwright, and researcher

Shady Lewis, author

Amelia Loulli, writer

Anna Ziajka Stanton, scholar and translator

Farah Abdessamad, writer

Eman Abdelrahim, author, Cairo, Chemnitz

Marcela Mora y Araujo, writer/broadcaster, Argentina

Dirk De Wit, art mediator, Brussels

John King, Associate Adjunct Professor at New York University

Cynthia Franklin, University of Hawai’i

Cynthia Cruz, poet, philosopher

Natasha Hastings, author

Amy Twigg, author

Thomas Keenan, Bard College

Faizal Deen, poet

Nasia Sarwar-Skuse, editor and writer

Ashraf Fayadh, poet

Rasna Warah, writer

Jessica Collins-Bojovic, Macquarie University, Australia

Christina Sharpe, author

Gabriel Robichaud, writer

Anne Waldman, poet

Guy Mannes-Abbott, author & critic

Babak Lakghomi, writer

Noeme Grace C. Tabor-Farjani, writer and academic

Stefani J Alvarez, Philippine National Book Award-winning writer and artist

Sebastian Nübling, director

Sohni Chakrabarti, academic and writer

Mohamedou Ould Slahi, writer

Flavio Rizzo, faculty, Champlain College, Vermont

Veruska Cantelli, faculty, Champlain College, Vermont

Naomi Wallace, playwright and screenwriter

Ronan Bennett, Irish novelist and screenwriter

Rasha Abbas, writer and journalist

Jane Yeh, author

Bina Shah, writer and novelist

Rana F. Sweis, writer

Mayada Ibrahim, translator

Willard Wood, translator

Dr. Stephan Milich, Institut für Sprachen und Kulturen der islamisch geprägten Welt, Universität zu Köln

Maria Avino, Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature Università di Napoli L’Orientale

Magda Hasabelnaby, Ain Shams University, Egypt

Margaux Vialleron, writer

Ariel Goldberg, independent writer, curator, educator

Sean Michaels, author

Nancy Sendler, poet

Rachel Beckles Willson, Professor of Intercultural Performing Arts, Leiden University

Nathalie Olah, writer

Camilla Grudova, writer

Nael Eltoukhy, Egyptian writer

Zoë Skoulding, poet 

Karthika Naïr, poet, fabulist, librettist, co-founder Eastman/Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui vzw

Corinne Pearlman, editor

Otoniya J Okot Bitek, poet

Archana Madhavan, translator

Edna Bonhomme, writer

Ida Börjel, poet and translator, Sweden
Hanna Nordenhök, Writer and translator, Sweden
Jasim Mohamed, poet and translator, Sweden

Fauzya Moore, writer

Michelle Hartman, literary translator, professor McGill university

Sharif Abdel Kouddous, journalist

Louise Rogers Lalaurie, translator

Samia Henni, author

Craig Lucas, playwright

Taysir Batniji, artist

Mira ‘Assaf Kafantaris, writer and scholar

Norbert Hirschhorn, poet

Kamran Rastegar, professor at Tufts University

Anys Merhoum, director,  Ateliers d’Alger

Boubacar Boris Diop, writer

Irfan Master, author

Catherine Taylor, writer

Emily Dische-Becker, researcher and writer

Said Khatibi, author

Hilary Plum, writer and editor

Sophie Lewis, translator

Natascha Sadr Haghighian, artist

Jee Leong Koh, Founder & Organizer, Singapore Unbound

Nat Muller, independent curator and researcher

Sarah Shaffi, journalist and author

Leone Ross, UK/Jamaican author

David Naimon, writer and host of Between the Covers podcast

Guy Gunaratne, novelist

Jamal Mahjoub, novelist

Nariman Youssef, translator

Suad Amiry, architect and writer, Riwaq Center for Habitat

Salim Tamari, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Birzeit University, and Research Associate IPS

Mahmoud Abuhashhash, writer, Palestine

Tuğrul Mende, writer

Charis Olszok, Associate Professor of Arabic Literature and Culture, University of Cambridge

Rebecca Fortuin, senior audio editor

Catherine Cobham, translator and honorary lecturer, Dept of Arabic and Persian, University of St Andrews

Anna Botta, Emerita Professor of Comparative Literature and Italian, Smith College

Mélikah Abdelmoumen, writer and editor, Canada

Preethi Nallu, independent journalist and freedom of expression advocate

Professor Rasheed El-Enany, scholar

Susan Muaddi Darraj, novelist

Samah Selim, translator

Helen Holmes, journalist

Andrew Hsiao, editor, Brooklyn

Helen Smith, professor, University of York

Zoë Brigley, poet, editor of Poetry Wales

Ann Morgan, author

Michael Palmer, author

Luke Leafgren, translator, assistant dean of Harvard College

Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships, National Book Foundation

Gina Apostol, novelist

Maggie Humm, author

Shahram Khosravi, professor, Stockholm University

Marilyn Booth, translator

Roger Allen, translator

Emilie Lygren, writer and educator

Farah Bakaari, critic and scholar

Fabio Caiani, Department of Arabic & Persian School of Modern Languages University of St Andrews

Shela Sheikh, University of London Institute in Paris

Isabelle Hesse, The University of Sydney

Stefan Sperl, SOAS, University of London

Catherine Filloux, U.S. Playwright/Librettist

Melissa Thackway, Lecturer and translator, Paris

Yara Rodrigues Fowler, writer

Tania Al Saadi, Stockholm University

Joanna Ho, author

Yazan Khalili, artist

Tanja Tuma, writer, Slovenia

Katrien Vanpee, University of Minnesota

Sue-Ann Harding, Queen’s University Belfast

Dwight Reynolds, University of California, Santa Barbara

Camilo Gómez-Rivas, writer, academic, University of California, Santa Cruz

Laura Cull, Lector of the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam

Norman Saadi Nikro, Research Fellow Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient Berlin and University of Potsdam

Trish Salah, poet

Aisha Bushby, author

Phương Anh, translator

Rawad Wehbe, translator and scholar of Arabic literature

Maysa Odeh, writer

Tom Lathan, author

Claire Kohda, author

Elizabeth Chakrabarty, writer

Jo Bell, poet and broadcaster

Natasha Walter, writer

Madeline Beach Carey, writer

Nanjala Nyabola, writer

Fady Joudah, writer

Elizabeth Graver, novelist

Muhsin al-Musawi, writer and scholar

Kerri ní Dochartaigh, writer

Victoria Brittain, writer

Mikaela Loach, writer

Harry Josephine Giles, author

Yasir Suleiman, University of Cambridge

Sonja Mejcher-Atassi, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature, American University of Beirut

Mona Baker, Affiliate Professor, University of Oslo

Ferial Ghazoul, Dept. of English and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo

Tahia Abdel Nasser, Department of English and Comparative Literature, American University in Cairo

Wail S. Hassan, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Luz Gomez, professor, Department of Arabic Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Katie Holton, writer and artist

Susannah Clap, writer and critic

Claire Phillips, writer

Catherine Faye, author 

Victoria Brooks, writer

Isaac Zisman, writer

Paul McAdory, writer

Mohamed Naguib, translator, Egypt

Emily Afifi, writer and publicist

Dena Afrasiabi, writer, editor 

Suchitra Vijayan, writer

Sarah Cypher, author

Levi Thompson, translator

Nancy Piñeiro, translator and researcher, Argentina

Annabel Sowemimo, Phd Candidate KCL and Harold Moody Scholar 

Nat Raha, poet & lecturer, Glasgow School of Art

Shamira Meghani, professor Diasporic Literatures, Durham University U.K.

Ahren Warner, writer and artist

Rebecca “Bee” Sacks, writer

Eylem Can, editör

Nilüfer Kuyaş, writer

 Gina Greco, Professor of French Department of World Languages and Literatures, Portland State University

Jamilah Ahmed, freelance publishing professional

Ellen Miles, writer

Tashmia Owen, author and artist

Rachel Connolly, writer and journalist

Omar D. Foda, author

Thaer Husien, author

Nisha Ramayya, writer

Abby Ryder-Huth, writer and translator

Alicia Kroell, editor

Eithne Gallagher, author

Wincent H. Kaya, writer and publisher from Germany

Shifa Saltagi Safadi, writer

Mireille Juchau, writer

Mustafa Al-Slaiman, translator and conference interpreter

Zanib Mian, author

Uma Mishra-Newbery, author

Ted Parry, author

Zeynep Arslan, translator and editor from Türkiye

Sarah Mughal Rana, author

Rahul Rao, reader in International Political Thought in the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews

Sami Ellis, author

Mark O’Connell, author

Kay Heikkinen, translator

Daniel Lowe, FRSA, curator

Emma Playfair, author

Richard Seaford, classicist and author, University of Exeter

Catherine Chidgey, author, New Zealand

Amelia Horgan, PhD candidate School of Philosophy & Art History University of Essex

Mireille Harper, editorial director

Amanda Hellander, author

Jane Goldman, poet and reader in English Literature, University of Glasgow

Victoria Aveyard, author

Sana Darghmouni, professor of Arabic and translator (Italy)

Jess Brough, writer

Drishya Maity, writer-photographer

Raven Leilani, author

Padmapani L. Perez, writer, Philippines

Khaled Hourani, artist

Nour Jaljuli, translator

Geoffrey D. Morrison, writer

Valerie Werder, fiction writer, scholar, and critic

Jonathan L. Krohn, writer

Hodan Yusuf poet, writer

Georgi Gospodinov, writer

Kevin Gerry Dunn, translator and ghostwriter

Wyatt Bonikowski, writer

Sean Purdy, Professor of History, University of São Paulo

Jacob Ross, writer

Gabriel Polley, PhD Palestine Studies (Exon., 2020), author of Palestine in the Victorian Age, copyeditor

Jessica Gaitán Johannesson, writer

Antonella Moscati, author, Italy

Haifa Zangana, author

Ali Bader, novelist

Zafer Ceylan, academic and translator

Lina al-Hathloul, author and human rights activist

Jon Fanning, lecturer

Narendra Pai, writer

Brendan Casey, writer

Dounia Benslimane, cultural operator and cultural rights defender, Casablanca, Morocco

Selene Hellström, author

Daniel K. Schrade Professor of Art, Hampshire College, Amherst, USA

Maria S. Barbon, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Massachusetts

Georg Pichler, scholar and writer, Austria

Annette Rainer, scholar and writer, Austria

Gregory Howard, writer and professor

Sarah Bekambo, artist/programmer at VIernulvier

Martín López Vega, writer

Donia Saleh, author

Faisal Tehrani, novelist from Malaysia

María José Capellín,writer

Díego Díaz Alonso, writer

Vicente García Oliva, writer

Hamza Jahanzeb, freelance authenticity editor

Rachel Francis, novelist

George MacBeth, editor

Annie Siddons, writer

Andrea Scrima, editor-in-chief, StatORec

Miguel Martínez del Arco, writer

Mohamed Safa, writer

Enrico Palandri, writer, Italy

Alba García Torres, scholar and writer

Zahid Chaudhary, Associate Professor of English, Princeton University

Ghenwa Hayek, Associate Professor of Modern Arabic Literature, University of Chicago

Paco Ignacio Taibo II, writer, Mexico

Xaime Martínez, writer

Carolina Sarmiento, writer

Bruno Matiussi, translator, Argentina

Pilar Sánchez Vicente, writer

Emma Álvarez, scholar and translator

Matthew Teller, author

Asmaa Essakouti, PhD fellow, BGSMCS

Francisco Álvarez, writer and translator

Edurne Portela, writer

José Ovejero, writer

Núria Codina, Assistant Professor, University of Leuven

Benjamin Thomas White, senior lecturer in history, University of Glasgow

Daniel Bernabé, writer

Madeleine Rogers, translator

Durre Shahwar, writer

Sandra Dema, scholar and writer

José Ovejero, writer

Rebecca May Johnson, author

Maya Palit, editor

Lucy Wobma, bakery worker, Groningen, the Netherlands

Pru Rowlandson

May Huang, translator

Carmen Grau, interpreter

Thomas Dodman, Associate Professor of French, Columbia University

Sina Queyras, professor Concordia University, Montréal

Octavia Bright, writer and broadcaster

Anna Bernard, academic, King’s College London

Lauren Elkin, writer

Jake Symbol, poet

Alton Melvar M Dapanas, author and translator

Rasheed El-Enany, professor emeritus, University of Exeter

Tiffany Tsao, author and literary translator

Lola Shoneyin of Book Buzz Foundation, Nigeria

Ben Mabie (freelance editor, member-organizer at NewsGuild-CWA)

Raghu Karnad, writer and journalist, New Delhi

Taylor Edmonds, writer & poet

Caryl Pagel, poet

Oumelbanine Zhiri, Professor, University of California San Diego

Teresa Pepe, University of Oslo

Barbara Skubic, translator

Katja Zakrajšek, translator

Justin Olivier Salhani, writer

Elliott Colla, translator and novelist, Georgetown University

Namrata Poddar, UCLA and Kweli

Samuli Schielke, research fellow, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter

Camilla Cederna, University of Lille

Joseph Boxman, translator

Zana Fraillon, author

Sina Queyras, Concordia University, Montréal

Simone SIBILIO, Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature, Ca’ Foscari University Of Venice

Mònica Rius-Piniés, University of Barcelona, UNESCO chair Women, Development, Cultures

Luz Gomez, professor, Department of Arabic Studies, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid

Joanna Walsh, writer/artist

Georgie Fooks, translator

Tomás Rodríguez, editor

Cecilia Picún, bookseller

Barbara Benini, translator and RiveArabe contributor

Margaret Larkin, University of California, Berkeley

Esther L. Barceló, writer

Dr. Ashley Caranto Morford, Assistant Professor of Literature and Writing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Fruela Fernández, scholar, translator and writer

Jessica Moor, writer

Niamh Cullen, Queen’s University Belfast

JP Sarce, Filipino teacher, critic, and researcher

Ramish Fatima, blogger, Pakistan

Fikri Yathir, researcher

Marissa Davis, poet and translator

Zoë Perry, translator

Arash Azizi, writer

CA Davids, novelist, South Africa

Sameen Mohsin Ali, academic, Birmingham, UK

Lydia Kiesling, novelist

Joey Connolly, poet and critic

Barbara Halla, critic and scholar

Jason Grunebaum, translator

Nico Pinpin, writer

Nabil Al-Raee, actor and theatre director

Abed Shabaneh, novelist

Paweł Mościcki. author

Jagoda Szelc. film director

Iman Aoun, actor

Edward Muallem, actor

Gary M. English, Distinguished Professor, Theatre and Human Rights, University of Connecticut

David Zellnik, playwright

Bashar Murkus, theatre director

Solomon JB Brager, cartoonist and writer

Casey Asprooth Jackson, filmmaker

Karam Ali, filmmaker

Toby Ginsberg, Commissioning Editor, Cambridge University Press

David Hayden, writer and publisher

Stine An, writer and translator

Syed M. Masood, author

Aaron David Kerner, translator

Joseph Schreiber, writer

Daisy Johnson, author

Saba Ahmed, editor

Ralf Webb, author

Delphine Grass, senior lecturer in French and Comparative Literature at Lancaster University (UK)

Francesca Brooks, academic researcher and writer

Ijaz Khan, Peshawar University, Pakistan

Eva Kenny, writer

May-lee Chai, author

Supriya Kaur Dhaliwal, author and translator

Ena Selimović, writer and translator

Kanchi Sharma, writer

Noah Angell, author

Esther Cruz, Spanish translator

N Kalyan Raman, writer and translator, India

Emma Lee, writer

Maha Ali, PhD candidate, Leiden University

Tania Saeed, Associate Professor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Pakistan

Rebecca Perry, author

Ibtihal Rida Mahmood, translator, journalist, and poet

Timothy Allen, author and translator

Alexandra Szacka, journalist and writer, Canada

Luciana De Mello, writer and journalist, Argentina

Alina Stefanescu, poet and writer

Nadia Khan, author, Malaysia

Jeremy Stewart, writer, Vancouver, Canada

Giordana García Sojo, escritora y editora, Venezuela

John Culbert, author and critic

Alison Armstrong, writer, Lancaster, UK

Lucy Thynne, freelance writer, London

John Dougherty, children’s writer

Mónica Teresa Ortiz, poet and critic, Texas

Amber Lone, writer

Moushumi Ghosh, writer and editor, India

Serap Gecü, artist and editor, Turkey

Mohammed Alnaas, author

Wessel de Cock, researcher and writer

Alison Clement, author, United States

Nilanjana S Roy, writer, New Delhi

Angelo Parodi, educator

Selma M. Yonus, author, Norway

Heba Khamis, writer, Egypt

Patrick Nathan, writer, United States

Emma Nilsson, rector, Bergen School of Architecture, Norway

Tom Chamberlain, artist and professor, Bergen School of Architecture

Cecilie Andersson, vice rector and teacher at Bergen School of Architecture

Aneil Rallin, unaffiliated scholar and writer, Los Angeles, USA

Kavan P. Stafford, author

Matthew Willis, author

Santanu Bhattacharya, author, London

Simon Reggani, scénariste, cinéaste, acteur, musicien

Tatev Chakhian, poet

Kavita Philip, professor, University of British Columbia, Canada

Vinutha Mallya, journalist and editor

Maheen Pracha, human rights activist, Pakistan

Stephen Beachy, writer

Regino Mateo, poet and teacher, Cantabria (Spain)

Aygen-Sibel Çelik, author

Mamoun Sakkal, artist and type designer

David Álvarez, Professor at the Department of English, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, USA

Madeehah Reza, writer and editor, UK

Ottilie Mulzet, translator

Moe Clark, Métis writer, performer, educator – Tio’tiake, Montreal

Nayla Naoufal, curator, writer, and cultural worker, Canada

Derek Sayer, author

Miranda Beshara, children’s author and translator

Prof. Dr. Sabine Broeck, Literary Studies, Emerita University of Bremen

Judith Rodenbeck, writer

Lucy Jones, freelance translator based in Berlin

Ahmed Farouk, author and translator

Mar Gámiz, translator, Mexico

Olivia Giovetti, writer

Maher Massoud, writer

Deepti Kapoor, writer

Fouad Asfour, writer

Susan C Wilson, writer

Yoke-Sum Wong, Editor, Sociology Lens

Lara Pawson, author

Kyo Maclear, writer

Zoe Dubno, writer

Fred Johnston, writer, Ireland

Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, writer

Thérèse Soukar Chehade, writer

Anne de Marcken, editor/publisher, author

Abdulrahman Matar, Canadian / Syrian writer and journalist, Canada

Paula Abramo, poet and translator, Mexico

Sanjana Ramanathan, PhD student, teacher, and writer

Uzma Aslam Khan, writer

Bilal Tanweer, writer and translator

André Magnan, président d’honneur de la Société Voltaire

LJ Ross, author

Dee Roycroft, writer

Sara Shaarawi, playwright

Uroš Prah, writer

Elena Cardona, author

Hava Güveli, Turkish Dutch poet, The Netherlands

Daoud Sarhandi, author and filmmaker

Ola Bog, author, Norway

Sara Marzullo, writer and translator, Italy

Bissan Edwan, writer and author

Gabriela Babnik Ouattara, author

Derek Leebaert, winner of the biennial 2020 Harry S Truman Book Award

Dr Florence Hazrat, author for Profile Books (UK)

Kare Pohjavirta, artist & activist, Helsinki, Finland

Ahlam Shibli, photographer, Palestine & Germany

Robin Myers, translator

Jordan Landsman, translator

Stephen Henighan, writer, translator, Professor, University of Guelph, Canada

Peter Scalpello, author

Shaun Whiteside, literary translator

Intan Paramaditha, author, Indonesia

Ellena Savage, author

Matthew Jamie, actor / director

Ed Luker, writer and poet, London

Alison Rumfitt, author

Nicola Dinan, author, London

Kevin Barry, writer

Samuel Martin, translator

Will Ashon, writer

Jana Kerremans, freelance literary expert, presenter and panel host, Mechelen, Flanders, Belgium

Jessica Widner, academic and author

Cassidy McFadzean, poet

Innas Tsuroiya, poet and writer, Indonesia

Peter Mitchell, author

So Mayer, writer and bookseller

Elvia Wilk, writer & editor

Donna McLean, writer

Bridget Minamore, author

Tana Oshima, literary translator

Jane Flett, author

Liza St. James, writer and editor

Arianne Shahvisi, author

Annie McDermott, translator

Umberto Mazzei, editor

Jonathan Moremi, journalist and writer, Germany

Patricia Sarrafian Ward, author

Nichola Smalley, translator

Natasha Soobramanien, author

Luke Williams, author

Jenzo DuQue, author and editor

Ellen Dillon, writer, Ireland

Urooj Nizami, librarian, Public Knowledge Project

Sarah Beddington, artist and filmmaker

Irene Sotiropoulou, independent scholar

Naji Bakhti, author

Corina Copp, poet, writer, translator

Nina Millns, writer

Dr Joanne Limburg, FRSL

Michael Ledger-Lomas, historian and writer

Lucy Scholes, critic and editor

Michelle de Kretser, author and winner of the 2007 LiBeraturpreis

Cathy Lear, editor

Geraldine Clarkson, poet

Esther Woolfson, writer

Samuel Rutter, writer, translator & editor

Alex Valente, literary translator

Nizrana Farook, author

Lydia Kwa, novelist and poet

Lauren Aimee Curtis, author

Johanne Lykke Naderehvandi, writer and translator (Sweden)

Nadia Atia, academic, Queen Mary University of London

Catherine Sadler, literature programmer and writer

Dženana Vucic, writer

Luiza Sauma, author

Izabella Scott, author

David Zimmerman, poet and editor, Sweden

Candice Whitney, translator

Emma Warren, writer

Rachael Daum, translator

Farid Azfar, Associate Professor of History, Swarthmore College

Lilit Žekulin Thwaites, translator and adjunct professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne

Anna Kate Blair, author

Cameron Finch, writer and editor

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author

Hanka Grupinska, author

Dr Dominic O’Key, School of English, University of Sheffield

Christina Neuwirth, writer, bookseller and researcher

Ralf Sotscheck, author, Ireland

Mary Costello, author

Rebecka Heughan, editor

Miguel Syjuco, author

Yui Kajita, translator, Germany

Sarah Sweis, writer

Louise Kennedy, writer, Ireland

Usha N. Marhé, writer, journalist (The Netherlands, Suriname)

Neske Beks, writer

Ziad Elmarsafy, Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature, University of St Andrews

Dr Salwa El-Awa, Senior Lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Swansea University

Alexa Firat, Temple University

Jordy Rosenberg, Professor and Associate Faculty, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Carly Everaert, costume designer and artist

Nayareth Pino Luna, writer, Chile

Romina Reyes Ayala, writer, Chile

Mira Mattar, writer

Nan van Houte, director, artist, and editor

Dr Nora E.H. Parr, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham

Dr Lucia Sorbera, Chair, Arabic Language and Cultures, The University of Sydney

Jacqueline Rose FBA, FRSL, Professor of Humanities, Co-Director, Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities

Ghadir Zannoun, Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Kentucky

Frédérique Saint-Julien, freelance project manager in the literary field

Mary Ann DeVlieg, PhD Candidate, TU Dublin

Alice Townson, book-to-film scout, London

Dina Heshmat, Associate Professor of Modern Arabic Literature, The American University in Cairo

Joanna Biggs, writer

Carrie Etter, author

Anna Schrade PhD, Senior Lecturer, Amherst CollegeAkif Pamuk, Author and Editor, PhD Professor (Associate), Marmara University

Ghada Bualuan, Teaching Professor, University of Notre Dame

Nathalie Khankan, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Doaa Omran, University of New Mexico

Bo Mandeville, producer/filmmaker, artist/writer

Maria Pace Ottieri, writer and journalist

Maya Caspari, University of York

Soraya Chemaly, author

Isis Nusair, Professor of International Studies & Women’s and Gender Studies, Denison University

Ibrahima Niang, Assistant Lecturer at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, Visiting Fellow at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient

Johanna Sellman, Associate Professor, Ohio State University

Elisa Nobel-Dilaty, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient

Dr. Hilal Alkan, Researcher, Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient

Isabelle Baafi, writer and editor, London

Christopher Stone, Associate Professor of Arabic, City University of New York

Arshia Sattar, writer, India

Annarita Taronna, PhD, Associate Professor in English and Translation, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy

Mark LeVine, PhD, professor, University of California, Irvine

Denise Mina, author

Rebecca Tamás, poet and nonfiction writer

Gigi Griffis, author

Ghada Mourad, Lecturer of French, Humanities Core, and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine

Abeer Husien, RN, Arab American University

Aea Varfis-van Warmelo, actor and writer

Daniel Neofetou, writer

Antonella Ghersetti, Department of Asian and North African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice

JoeAnn Hart, author

Prof. Claire Gallien, English and Comparative Studies, Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier 3

Mohammed Sawaie, University of Virginia

Nader Uthman, Cambridge, MA

Dan Wells, author

erica kaufman, Director, Bard College Institute for Writing & Thinking

Mohammad Shawky Hassan, filmmaker

Omar Kasmani, writer and scholar

Bani Abidi, artist

Mohammad Abdullah, musician, ElMorabba3

Kenan Darwich, artist, Fehras Publishing Practices

Sami Rustom, artist, Fehras Publishing Practices

Ariana Reines, poet

Karolina Grzywnowicz, artist

Jakub Rudziński, designer

Jenna Tang, Literary Translator from Chinese & Spanish

Ted Swedenburg, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas

Fred Carter, poet

Also:

There is more about the smears in the German press at the letter of support issued PEN Berlin.

In the wake of the Frankfurt Book Fair announcement, several organizations and individuals pulled out of the fair, including the Sharjah Book Authority, the Arab Publishers Association, RAYA Agency, and many individual authors. We will have more about this on ArabLit.