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Four Libyan Women Writers You Should Read

For Women in Translation Month (#WiTMonth), we take you on a tour of work by four Libyan women writers. For more on the Libyan literary scene, visit ArabLit’s June 2026 newsletter for publishing professionals.

 

Four Libyan Women Writers You Should Read

By Masoud Masoud

As leading Libyan writer Najwa Bin Shatwan said in a 2020 interview with Orna Herr, “A woman writer is always caught between the gavel of power and the anvil of society.”

Both the state and social expectations have placed heavy burdens on Libyan women writers, as Kawthar Al-Jahmi also discussed with ArabLit. Kawthar saw the way forward as greater solidarity: “I believe this solidarity fosters their confidence and breaks down the barriers of fear or hesitation. I actually feel this happening from time to time. Women in the last two decades are quite different from those who came before them.”

And indeed, several Libyan women writers are pushing the boundaries of literary form; here, we give a whistle-stop tour of the works of four of them.

NAJWA_BINSHATWAN
Najwa Bin Shatwan

  1. Najwa Bin Shatwan

    One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Arabic literature, known for her fast-moving, experimental writing, often told from unexpected points of view. She writes across genres, including novels, short stories, essays, plays, and memoir, with off-kilter explorations of  human existence, identity, history, and society.

Novels

Short-Story Collections

  • An Ongoing Coincidence, 2019 (صدفة جارية): Longlisted for Al-Multaqa Prize for the Arabic Short Story in 2019. Many of the stories have been translated into English, but the full collection, unfortunately, remains unpublished.
  • Twenty States of Being Alone, 2019, (عشرون حالة كنت فيها وحيدًا);
  • Catalogue of a Private Life, 2018 (كتالوج حياة خاصة): won an English PEN Translates grant in 2019. Translated into English (by Sawad Hussain), with a Greek translation by Persa Koumoutsi forthcoming from Armida Books this fall; an Italian translation is also coming out this fall from Tangerin/Tamu Edizioni (translated by Marianna Villeggiante, Cristina Dozio, and Federico Pozzoli)
  • Grandmother Salha, 2012 (الجدة صالحة);
  • The Queen, 2009 (الملكة);
  • Child of the Waw, 2006 (طفل الواو);

Poetry

  • Water in My Hook, 2002 (الماء في سنارتي)

Plays

  • The Coat, 2003 (المعطف): winner of Sharjah Festival Award of Arab Creativity in 2003.

Memoir

Read more of her work in English

  1. “The Sharp Bend at Al-Bakur” – winner of 2019 ArabLit Story Prize, translated by Sawad Hussain
  2. “Run, George!” translated by Sawad Hussain
  3. “Portrait of a Libyan Scream,” translated by Sawad Hussain
  4. “The Reeling City,” translated by Sawad Hussain
  5. “Where Are You Running To This Evening?” translated by Sawad Hussain
  6. “The Fish Market,” translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
  7. “His Excellency the Eminence of the Void,” translated by Suneela Mubayi
  8. “Click Like,” translated by M Lynx Qualey
  9. “The Eid,” in the collection Circle Surface Sun
  10. “Armando’s Virtuous Crime,” in the collection Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa
Aisha Ibrahim

  1. Aisha Ibrahim

    Aisha Ibrahim is a prominent voice in contemporary Libyan and Arabic literature.

Novels

  • Thorned Silk, 2026 (حرير شائك): Forthcoming this fall, Thorned Silk is set in Tripoli, Libya, amidst military conflict, and follows Samira, a woman experiencing a profound alienation within her own body and haunted by an inner voice that narrates her life as though it belongs to someone else. According to the publisher, as Samira struggles against oppression and channels her passion into writing, she finds herself entangled with an opportunistic friend who steals both her stories and attention.
  • The Sand Box, 2022 (صندوق الرمل): Longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2023. An excerpt from the novel in Nashwa Nasreldin’s translation is available on Words Without Borders;
  • The Gazelle’s War, 2019 (حرب الغزالة): Longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) in 2020;
  • Qusayl, 2016 (قصيل).

Short-Story Collections

  • The World Ends in Tripoli (العالم ينتهي في طرابلس).
Kawther Al-Jahmi

  1. Kawther Al-Jahmi

    One of Libya’s leading novelists and short-story writers. Her work is closely connected to Libya’s social realities, exploring everyday life while reflecting the country’s broader political and economic conditions. She is also an editor at Fasila (فاصلة), an online platform supporting emerging Libyan writers. You can read a conversation with her on ArabLit.

Novels

Short-Story Collection

More of her writings:

The Most Beautiful Moments of the Journey, on road trips to Benghazi

Azza Maghur

  1. Azza Maghur

    A Libyan short-story writer who also runs a library where children take part in various activities, including reading and storytelling.

Short-Story Collections

More by Azza Maghur:

“Mowgli and Shere Khan,” and “The Leaf,” translated by Safa Elnaili.

Masoud Masoud is a business graduate with a background in wealth management. He is passionate about business and the intersection between literature and publishing. His fascination with the world of literature inspired him to found @Libyan_Readers (on Instagram) & Libyan Readers – القرّاء الليبيّون (on Facebook) both dedicated to sharing his love of reading and highlighting the work of Libyan writers.