What Ever Happened to Mohamed Choukri?
Qantara announces at the opening of its profile of the legacy of Mohamed Choukri that: Mohamed Choukri’s books rank among the classics of modern world literature. The Moroccan author would […]
News
El Shafee to Try Again Publishing ‘Metro’
Apparently, today ArabLit is all about censorship and graphic novels. First, I get intrigued by Henry Matthews’ comic-preservation project, next by Khaled Abul-Naga’s promise to support a filming of BuSSy […]
The Past and Future of Arabic Comics
It’s not unusual that an adult would have a box of old comic books stashed somewhere. But avid Lebanese collector Henry Matthews—who apparently has collected tens of thousands of individual […]
Economist: Egypt at 90% Literacy in a Generation?
The Economist has out its new country profile of Egypt, assembled by the knowledgeable Max Rodenbeck, and of course I skipped immediately to the short section on literacy and education.
I’m Not to Talk About Adania Shibli’s /Touch/
I have begun to despair of my review of Adania Shibli’s lovely Touch ever seeing daylight. (Yes, yes, it will…next issue….) And, as one is not supposed to write about a book before one’s review has seen daylight, I can’t say much about it here.
Publishing Perspectives Looks at Arabic Graphic Novels
After dropping in on a recent YA-writing workshop in Cairo, translator/commentator Chip Rosetti published the first of a two-part series for the online magazine Publishing Perspectives about Arabic graphic novels.
Competition May Drive Cairo’s Booksellers to Seek New, Lower-income Buyers
In a generally depressing article in Al Masry Al Youm about the few Cairenes who are targeted by the new bookstore boom (those “who can afford to shop for expensive Arabic and foreign books while sipping a cappuccino and savoring a marble cake”), I found this exciting gem:
But as competition is getting harsher in Cairo, [Diwan co-founder Hind] Wassef and some of her counterparts are contemplating searching for new markets outside the capital city and targeting readers with thinner wallets.
Travels
I will be traveling a bit over the next few days, although not as much as Ibn Battouta (green line) or even so much as Marco Polo (red line).
Elias Khoury’s New Book: ‘A Total Re-questioning of the Bab el Shams Approach’
A few days back, I quoted Susannah Tarbush in saying that Elias Khoury was working on a “sequel” to Gate of the Sun. I didn’t realize, until this morning, that […]