A Look Back at ArabLit in May 2026
~May 2026~
Particular thanks this month to editors & contributors Dana Al Shahbari, Ibtihal Rida Mahmood, May Ziadé, Rose DeMaris, Mennan Salih, Yasmeen Hanoosh, Sarah Enany, Neil Hewison, Leonie Böttiger, Amr El-Zawawy, Danae Fonseca, Nashwa Nasreldin, and Tugrul Mende.
On ArabLit, this has been the “Month of May“: A look forward at new engagements with May Ziadeh, including our collective translation of Ziadeh’s Musings of a Young Woman, translations of May’s poetry, essays reflecting on her work, and more. We started the month with “May Goes On: (Re)-Introducing May Ziadeh“ and we end it TODAY, May 31, at a May Ziadeh salon and pre-launch event. Please join us.
New books in translation in May 2026
New translations that appeared this month include three from Arabic to English: Welcome to Hell: From the West Bank to Gaza, by Mohammad Sabaaneh, Your Presence is a Danger to Your Life, by Samar Yazbek, translated by Leri Price, and Hidden Companions Paranormals from the Old City of Jerusalem, by , translated by Fatema Alhashemi.
There were also two Arab books translated from French: Farewell Tangier, by Salma El Moumni, translated by Lynn E. Palermo, and The End of the Arab of the Future: A Youth in the Middle East, by Riad Sattouf, translated by Sam Taylor.
More May Ziadeh
May Goes On: (Re)-Introducing May Ziadeh
Why Bring May Ziadeh into English? Why Now?
In Memory of May, by May Ziadé
Five Poems by May Ziadeh, translated by Rose DeMaris
Prize announcements
Mawred announced their new Literary ‘Production Award’ grants, and the projects all sound amazing. Also, submissions are now open for the Radwa Ashour Award. Katharine Halls’ translation of Shady Lewis’s On the Greenwich Line won a James Tait Black Prize that many didn’t want to go forward at this time because of a marking boycott at his host, Edinburgh University.
Also, Stella Gaitano’s Eddos Goldenes Lächeln (tr. Larissa Bender) made the shortlist of Germany’s Internationaler Literaturpreis shortlist for this year. It’s also available in English, as Edo’s Souls, in Sawad Hussain’s translation.
Fiction from ArabLit
Novel excerpts
From Mohammed Alyahyai’s ‘The War’
‘A City with No Secrets,’ and except from Amal Alsaeedi’s Side Entrance to the House, translated by Nashwa Nasreldin
Short fiction
Classic Short Fiction: East Is East
Poetry in translation from ArabLit and beyond
‘The South, The Last Day’: A Poem for Amal Khalil
Two New Poems by Marah Muhammad Al-Khatib
‘My Father Chased the Free Bird,’ poetry from the SYRIA: ETERNITY FALLS issue of ArabLit Quarterly, by Marwan Ali, translated by Ghada Alatrash
Five Poems by May Ziadeh, translated by Rose DeMaris
the thing between the wall and my body, by Ahmed Douma, translated by Abdelrahman ElGendy (from The Baffler)
Nonfiction from ArabLit and beyond
The Loneliness of the Spared, by Haya Abu Shammala
Rhyming Recipes, by Leonie Böttiger
Standing Tall Like Trees: From Gaza to Canada, by Hedaya Shamun, translated by Nael Hijjo
‘Why Don’t You Just Die?’ by Nasser Abu Srour, translated by Luke Leafgren (from The Equator)
A Bookstore Grows in Damascus, by Olivia Snaije (from Publishing Perspectives)
Gaza’s Phoenix Library Rises, by Husam Maarouf (from The Key)
Between Two Arabic Translators
Translating for the Egyptian Stage, Yasmeen Hanoosh in conversation with Sarah Enany
Interviews from ArabLit and beyond
On Translating the Omani Natural Landscape
Mohamed Mansi Qandil, on Medicine and Writing
Cairo Without Euphemism: An Interview with Belal Fadl and Osama Hammad (from Asymptote)
Book reviews from ArabLit and beyond
‘Welcome to Hell:’ On Mohammad Sabaaneh’s Latest Graphic Novel
Bassem Khandaqji’s Mask is a novel of Palestinian Resistance (from The Markaz Review)
News & events from ArabLit and beyond
Mawred Announces Literary ‘Production Award’ Grants
On Arabic Young Adult Literature in Translation
‘On the Greenwich Line’ Wins James Tait Black Prize
An unknown novelette by Taha Hussein republished after a century (from Al Ahram)
On BULAQ
Ursula Lindsay and M Lynx Qualey spoke with Ibtihal Mahmood about Jordanian literature. Episode coming soon.
On ARABLITe
Hija del Nilo: Doria Shafik y el espejismo de los derechos
From our monthly publishing newsletter
This month’s newsletter for publishing professionals focused on the Omani literary landscape in “Translating Oman.” You can sign up for our monthly newsletter for publishing professionals here.
From our weekly poetry newsletter
Mennan Salih, editor of our weekly poetry newsletter, curated poems by Haitham K. Al-Zubbaidi, Da’ad Haddad, El Habib Louai, and Asmaa Dwaima. You can sign up for the poetry newsletter here.
From our “opportunities for Arabic<–>English translators'” newsletter
We wrote this month about open calls at Transit Books and Saqi Books, opportunities at Stinging Fly, and pitching translations for young readers. You can sign up for the newsletter here.
From our YouTube channel
This month, our YouTube channel featured contributor Yara Omer reading the poetry of contributor Hend Jouda. Watch it here.
If you believe there are other things we ought to have included, please let us know.