“On joining primary school, I started leaving sufficient space for my non-existent name at the right margin of the page, followed by my father’s full name, who died and immortalized his name through me. I did the same in my English notebooks, at the left side of the page. I was the third person in all languages and descriptions in the universe.”
Read moreAn Excerpt from Fadi Azzam’s ‘Huddud’s House’
“He fell silent; it was the silence of a man staring at the phantom of nothingness; a silence that spoke the full truth.”
Read moreFrom Khaled Nasrallah’s IPAF-shortlisted ‘The White Line of Night’
“The censor would often read a sentence and claim that he had read it elsewhere.”
Read moreNew Short Fiction from Syria: Ibrahim Samu’il’s ‘The Stench of Heavy Footsteps’
She felt her chest growing tighter and exhaled. “Are you going to lecture me? Just tell me, how and where will I see him?”
Read moreNew Short Fiction from Syria: Ibrahim Samu’il’s ‘The Bathroom’
“Cautiously, we came up with a plan. We studied it from all possible angles. We considered all the odds and maneuvered a way around each one. We kept in mind the lessons learned from previous prisoners, the schedules of the guards and the timing of their shifts, as well as the distance between the prison cells and the nearest public street, taking particular note of where pedestrians were permitted to roam.”
Read moreNew Short Fiction: Mariam Qahtani’s ‘Heavensent Huriyya’
“Suspicion’s bite trailed her gaze as the lazy air played across her vision. She straightened her back as she inspected the grim and miserable faces before her. For those who watched, her matted hair, ragged clothes, and very long fingernails foretold no good will.”
Read moreNew Short Fiction: Ibrahim Ishag’s ‘A Dinner with Mr. MacNeil’
By Ibrahim Ishag Translated by Nassir al-Sayeid al-Nour They prepare for the feast methodically, while still leaving countless possibilities and hiccups to chance. Today, the sons of al-Kabashi, with the […]
Read more19 Short-short Fictions by Fatima as-Sanoussi
Fatima as-Sanoussi is one of the prominent champions of Sudanese flash fiction, having spearheaded the spread and popularity of micro fiction in Sudanese newspapers throughout the 1980s.
Read moreExcerpt from Mohsine Loukili’s IPAF-shortlisted ‘The Prisoner of the Portuguese’
“From the seven children my father slaughtered in the cellar of our house, I was the sole survivor. Our mother, who could have stood between us and death, died of hunger and sorrow a day before the tragedy.”
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