From the IPAF Shortlist to the Final Six
“I was hoping I would see some more surprises, books that would somehow stick out, astonish me somehow. I know such books exist, but they do not always seem to be the ones that get to be submitted to IPAF.”
Interviews
‘Lonely as a Crowded Room’
‘Lonely as a Crowded Room’: Wit, Love, Death and Everything in Between By Alia H. Salim Some novels grip you from the first page, not because they fit into […]
It’s Publication Day for ‘Poppy Seeds: Poetry from Gazan Youth’
It’s publication day for Poppy Seeds: Poetry from Gazan Youth, a new collection out from young people’s publication Naya Magazine. Here, we talk with co-editor Akshay Maheshwari about the idea behind […]
Azher Jirjees: Writing the Country That Lives In Him
Last month, International Prize for Arabic Fiction judges announced that Iraqi writer Azher Jirjees had been shortlisted for the 2025 prize for his The Valley of the Butterflies, a novel set in Baghdad between 1999 and 2024 that tells the story of Aziz Awad, a government archivist who loses his job and struggles to keep his small family alive. Here, Jirjees talks about the power of satire, writing in exile, the Iraqi literary scene, and about how he and other Iraqi writers wanted to make “our voices heard, mine and those of my generation, who had lived through the ordeal from beginning to end.”
Kay Heikkinen on the Continuing Relevance of Radwa Ashour’s ‘Granada’
Radwa Ashour’s complete Granada trilogy finally came out in English late last year from AUC Press in Kay Heikkenen’s translation. Kay spoke about her translation at the book’s online launch event in November. Here, in conversation with Tugrul Mende, Kay elaborates on her work with the book, her relationship with Radwa, and how she approached translating this iconic work.
‘Safaa and the Tent’: Narrating Gaza through Comics
Earlier this week, The Lakes International Comic Art Festival published Gaza-based artist Safaa Odeh’s Safaa and the Tent, a collection of drawings and social-media posts translated by Nada Hodali. Nada talked about the book, its humor and grief, and the difficulties of translating a work that leaves you speechless.
From Mauritania to the IPAF Shortlist
Last month, International Prize for Arabic Fiction judges announced that Mauritanian writer Ahmed Vall Dine had been shortlisted for the 2025 prize for his Danshmand, a fictionalized biography of the renowned scholar Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (d. 1111). Vall Dine talks about his journey as a writer, the challenges that face Mauritanian writers, and why “any writer who takes on the challenge of portraying a historical Muslim scholar is actually fortunate.”
New on Bulaq: ‘One Day,’ with Omar El Akkad
Novelist and former journalist Omar El Akkad talks about his book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This – a blend of memoir, social criticism, and moral philosophy.
New on Bulaq: Listening to Syria with Alia Malek
In the latest episode of the BULAQ podcast, which aired yesterday, journalist, author and editor Alia Malek talks about her recent visit to Damascus and about the anthology of Syrian […]