“‘Using Life’s’ illustrator Ayman Zorkany will be traveling to Italy to present the book at the Festival delle letterature Mediterranee in Lucera in Puglia. After that, there will also be a launch in Rome.”
Egypt
Support Omar Hazek as Nottingham Festival of Literature’s Virtual Writer in Residence
“Your money will go towards producing and marketing these events, and paying a fee to Omar and to all other artists involved. We are also hoping to commission a piece of work from Omar Hazek.”
Should You Read Naguib Mahfouz’s Juvenalia?
“Naguib Mahfouz didn′t want his early essays salvaged from out-of-print journals, dusted off and collected in an anthology.”
More Than 6 Months On, Novelist Ahmed Naji Awaits Scheduling of Appeal
“We invite all writers, journalists, and those interested in freedom of expression and creativity to attend the Bulaq Abu Al-Aila Misdemeanour court session scheduled for Saturday, August 27 to hear the defense’s motion for a stay of the two year sentence issued against writer#AhmedNaji[.]”
On a Book Unbanned in Egypt
“The book was withdrawn for ‘investigation’ by the authorities without any explanation, and repeated enquiries to multiple government ministries failed to elicit any meaningful response.”
Today: A Motion to Stay Ahmed Naji’s Two-year Prison Sentence for His Novel ‘Using Life’
“Supporters have asked those in Egypt to gather at 10 a.m.”
Egypt’s Biggest Literary Award to Poet and ‘Language Guardian’ Farouk Shousha
“In his role as secretary general, Shousha has been critical of what he considers to be a decline in the quality of Arabic in Egypt, a problem he attributes to radio and television announcers, poor teaching standards and the lack of libraries in schools. Shousha has described the problem as ‘an issue of national security.'”
It’s Pub Day: 5 Reasons to Read Basma Abdel Aziz’s Terrifying, Hopeful, Dystopic Fantasy ‘The Queue’
Perhaps that’s why Men’s Journal listed it atop its “8 Best Books of May.” Who knows?
Friday Films: ‘The Land,’ Based on a Popular Novel by Abdel Rahman Al-Sharqawi
“Set in the 1930s, Sharqawi’s novel was first published as al-Ard in 1954 – two years after the Egyptian revolution – and appeared in Desmond Stewart’s excellent translation in 1962. It has also been translated into French, Russian and other languages….”
Day of Blogging for Ahmed Naji: His Reading Recommendations
This day of blogging, in organizers’ words, is “to offer a writer who’s been sentenced to jail for two years the chance to get out of prison, but also to ensure that he is the last person imprisoned for his writings.”
It’s May 12, the Day for Ahmed Naji: Texts to Read, Online Book Discussions, Radio Programs, More
“Excerpts of Naji’s novel in the original Arabic, as well as French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Turkish, Slovenian, German, and Finnish.”
May 12, International Day of Readings for Egyptian Novelist Ahmed Naji
“The readings aim to show solidarity with Ahmed and to raise awareness about his current situation and that of writers and journalists across Egypt.”
