SF, fantasy, and YA author-translator Ahmed Samah Al-Mahdi shares a chapter from his novel Malaz.
The Ruins of the Future: Speculative Fiction in Arabic
"Science fiction is both a mode of engagement and act of resistance by those who are continually cast as alien in their homeland."
The Prescience of a 2001 Egyptian SF Novel: ‘America 2030’
The novel paints a portrait of a dystopian future for the United States, where the mafia take over the political system and places one of their operatives in the White House, transforming the bastion of liberty and democracy into a tyranny that practices gangsterism on a global scale.
In Memoriam: Ahmed Khalid Tawfik, the Man and the Mission
"When Rifaat Ismail died in the novellas, it caused a sensation on the internet. Fans on social media websites made a de facto protest march online, complaining that the man still had plenty of life in him and that the author should have kept him going for at least another 10 years."
Sunday Submissions: ‘Takwin’: Magazine of Islamicate Science Fiction
"The magazine will be published online, with the first issue set to appear January 1, 2019."
Safia Ketou: The First Algerian Sci-fi Novelist of Post-independence Algeria
For Women in Translation Month, our Algeria editor writes about one of her favorite discoveries, whose La Planète Mauve et Autres Nouvelles should certainly be brought into English By Nadia Ghanem In six years of rummaging through Algerian literature, Safia Ketou’s sci-fi story "The Mauve Planet" remains my favorite find. Born Zohra Rabhi in 1944, Safia Ketou wrote … Continue reading Safia Ketou: The First Algerian Sci-fi Novelist of Post-independence Algeria
Friday Finds: Cairokee Issues a Song in Memory of Egyptian Author Ahmed Khaled Towfik
The video has already garnered more than 330,000 views, a testament to the popularity of Egypt's godfather of genre.
‘Using Life’ Among Finalists of First-ever Neukom Institute Literary Arts Awards
There will be two awards: one for a debut work, and the other for an established author in the genre of speculative fiction. Each award winner will receive $5,000.
SFF and Horror Novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfik, ‘Pop Culture Godfather,’ Dies at 55
"Towfik's engaging novel 'Utopia,' tr. Chip Rossetti, was a finalist for the 2012 Science Fiction and Fantasy Translation Awards."
‘Spicing Up Sci-Fi’ at London’s MFest, a Festival of Muslim Cultures and Ideas
"It will be held at the British Library on Euston Road, chaired by journalist and commentator, Faisal Al Yafai."
The Director of the Egyptian Society for Science Fiction on Arabic SF’s Past, Present, and Future
Our latest publication, Al-Samidoun (الصامدون) had a ratio of 14 stories by men to 9 by women, while the previous publication – Al-Muntasiroun (المنتصرون) had a radio of 16:8, an improvement. The tide is turning!
Science Fiction Translation Workshop in Amman, Jordan: ‘Faster than Light’
"Over the course of seven sessions of this multi-media workshops, we will attempt to uncover the hidden dragons that lurk within the worlds of fantasy and science fiction writing in the Arabic language."
