"So the fact that I couldn’t find enough women was, to me, exciting for the researcher, because now I want to find them. The Women of Arab Graphic Design should be coming out next."
Virtual ‘Arabic Book Cover Archive’ Showcases Range of Styles
Starting with the first post in February of this year, a team of volunteers from across the region started scanning and posting images to Instagram as a start at an archive tracing the shifts and movements in Arabic cover design.
4 Different Covers for ‘In the Sabaya Market’
Which is the "right" cover for Dunya Mikhail's "In the Slave Market"?
Why So Many ‘Saving Muslim Women’ Book Covers?
It was last November that Adam Talib gave his talk about "Translating for Bigots," and this May that Africa is a Country wrote about "The Dangers of a Single Book Cover." There is a lot more to be said about how Arabic literature (in translation) is jacketed, and how this packaging affects how we experience books.
Does a Book’s Cover Change How You Read the Story?
Khaled Khalifa's heart-squeezing "In Praise of Hatred" is scheduled to appear in the US this April. As often happens, the US edition will have a different cover from the UK edition, which came out in 2012. As also often happens, the cover will feature a woman who is covered, only her eyes appearing.
‘Ghilafaat’: The Relationship Between a Book and Its Cover
This summer, Jessamy Klapper began blogging the Arabic books entering Columbia's library system. "Ghilafaat" has only grown since then, adding books and an Instagram component. Klapper answered a few questions about the project for ArabLit.
New Blog Alert: Vintage Arabic Book Covers
Who doesn't like book jackets? Better still, vintage jackets.
Covers of Ahmed Mourad’s ‘Vertigo’
I realize they're going out of fashion -- or into a different sort of fashion, with e-books -- but I like cover art. I love the new covers coming out on Arabic books in the recent years. And, of course, I love to compare covers of different language-versions. More about Vertigo and Ahmed Mourad: 5 … Continue reading Covers of Ahmed Mourad’s ‘Vertigo’
Translating Arabic Book Covers into English
Even in the e-book world, book covers are still an important business. A crummy design signals, to the reader, a crummy book. And an incredible design can cut through a world full of clutter and arrest a reader's attention. The original of Radwa Ashour's Specters is on the right, with (from right to left), the British edition … Continue reading Translating Arabic Book Covers into English
Designing Covers for ‘The Cairo Trilogy’
Several readers emailed, tweeted, or commented about the covers I posted along with translator William Hutchins' thoughts about The Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz. So I tracked down designer Christine Clayton and asked her about them. She commented: These were designed 2 years ago while I was in design school at The Portfolio Center in Atlanta, … Continue reading Designing Covers for ‘The Cairo Trilogy’
Book Designer, Caricature Artist, Children’s Book Author Mohieddin Al-Labbad Dies
Prominent Egyptian caricature artist, book designer, and children's book author Mohieddin Al-Labbad died last Saturday at age 70, numerous sources report. Al-Labbad was one of the most prominent book-cover designers in the Arab world. He also produced many illustrations and caricatures, particularly for Rose Al-Yousef and Sabah Al-Kheir magazines. His caricatures and drawings have been … Continue reading Book Designer, Caricature Artist, Children’s Book Author Mohieddin Al-Labbad Dies
