Time: 8-9 EST / 1-2pm BST / 2-3 CEST
This panel will delve into the experiences of Ahmed Val Bin El Dine and Ishraga Mustafa, two African writers publishing in the Arabic literary sphere. What challenges have they faced, if any? What lessons have they learnt? What is their view on translation? We will also discuss their journey as writers, focusing on their works published and what is to come.
The session will be moderated by Sawad Hussain.
There is no need to register.
You can simply show up at the YouTube page to join. However, if you would like a reminder, you can get one via this Facebook event page or EventBrite.
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Sawad Hussain is an Arabic translator and litterateur who is passionate about bringing narratives from the African continent to wider audiences. She was co-editor of the Arabic-English portion of the award-winning Oxford Arabic Dictionary (2014). Her translations have been recognised by English PEN, the Anglo-Omani Society and the Palestine Book Awards, among others. She has run workshops introducing translation to students and adults under the auspices of Shadow Heroes, Africa Writes and Shubbak Festival. She has forthcoming translations from Fitzcarraldo Editions and MacLehose Press. She holds an MA in Modern Arabic Literature from SOAS. Her Twitter handle is @sawadhussain.
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Dr Ishraga Mustafa Hamid is an author, freelance journalist, translator, human and female rights activist. She studied Journalism and Communication Sciences in Sudan and Austria. She finished her PhD in Political Science at the Institute of Political Science, Vienna. She has published numerous books in Arabic as well as in German. Her works in English translation have been featured in Words Without Borders and The Common. She has translated nine books into Arabic and co-translated some into German. In 2020, she was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit of the City of Vienna.
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Ahmed Val Bin El Dine is a Mauritanian writer and journalist. He is known for his historical novels الحدقي (Al Hadaki) and الشيباني (Al Shibyani). Al Hadaki portrays one of the most important literary figures in the Abbasid period. He also has written a memoir (A Guest of Ghaddafi’s Brigades) detailing the time he was imprisoned during his coverage of the 2011 revolution in Libya. He holds a degree in Arabic literature from Nouakchott University and a Masters degree in Comparative Religion from Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar.