29 Oct 2026
Twenty Years
What has changed in the last twenty years in Arabic literature, publishing and translation? What has not?
The sponsor of this episode, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, was founded in 2006. It was followed by a number of other shifts: the globalization of regional book fairs, the founding of many other book prizes (particularly in GCC countries), the ever-increasing role of digital books and media.
In this episode we talk to five SZBA winners–Ibtisam Barakat, Marina Warner, Maria Dadouch, Said Khatibi, and Hooda Shawa–about the personal consequences of winning such a big prize, about how the Arabic literary landscape has changed in the last 20 years, and what else needs to be done to support Arabic literary production in the future.
Show Notes:
This episode of the BULAQ podcast is produced in collaboration with the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is one of the Arab world’s most prestigious literary prizes, showcasing the stimulating and ambitious work of writers, translators, researchers, academics and publishers advancing Arab literature and culture around the globe.The award celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award Translation Grant is open all year round, with funding available for fiction titles that have won or been shortlisted for the award. Publishers outside the Arab world are eligible to apply. Find out more on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award website at: zayedaward.ae
You can read more of the five authors’ responses at arablit.org/20years
You can find Ibtisam Barakat’s work at ibtisambarakat.com.
Marina Warner’s website is marinawarner.com; her memoir of growing up in Cairo is Inventory of a Life Mislaid and was first published by Harper Collins in the UK.
While Maria Dadouch’s SZBA-winning The Glass Ball is not yet available in English translation, her exciting speculative-fiction middle-grade novel I Want Golden Eyes has been translated by Marcia and Sawad Hussain.
Said Khatibi’s SZBA-winning The End of the Sahara is available from Bitter Lemon Press in Alex Elinson’s translation.
Hooda Shawa was recently nominated for the 2027 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Her SZBA-winning The Bird’s Journey to Mount Qaf is available in her own translation from Saqi Books, while her The Necklace of Seven Souls is out in Sawad Hussain and Nour Jaljuli’s excellent translation this fall.
What has changed in the last twenty years in Arabic literature, publishing and translation? What has not?
The sponsor of this episode, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, was founded in 2006. It was followed by a number of other shifts: the globalization of regional book fairs, the founding of many other book prizes (particularly in GCC countries), the ever-increasing role of digital books and media.
In this episode we talk to five SZBA winners–Ibtisam Barakat, Marina Warner, Maria Dadouch, Said Khatibi, and Hooda Shawa–about the personal consequences of winning such a big prize, about how the Arabic literary landscape has changed in the last 20 years, and what else needs to be done to support Arabic literary production in the future.
Show Notes:
This episode of the BULAQ podcast is produced in collaboration with the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is one of the Arab world’s most prestigious literary prizes, showcasing the stimulating and ambitious work of writers, translators, researchers, academics and publishers advancing Arab literature and culture around the globe.The award celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The Sheikh Zayed Book Award Translation Grant is open all year round, with funding available for fiction titles that have won or been shortlisted for the award. Publishers outside the Arab world are eligible to apply. Find out more on the Sheikh Zayed Book Award website at: zayedaward.ae
You can read more of the five authors’ responses at arablit.org/20years
You can find Ibtisam Barakat’s work at ibtisambarakat.com.
Marina Warner’s website is marinawarner.com; her memoir of growing up in Cairo is Inventory of a Life Mislaid and was first published by Harper Collins in the UK.
While Maria Dadouch’s SZBA-winning The Glass Ball is not yet available in English translation, her exciting speculative-fiction middle-grade novel I Want Golden Eyes has been translated by Marcia and Sawad Hussain.
Said Khatibi’s SZBA-winning The End of the Sahara is available from Bitter Lemon Press in Alex Elinson’s translation.
Hooda Shawa was recently nominated for the 2027 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Her SZBA-winning The Bird’s Journey to Mount Qaf is available in her own translation from Saqi Books, while her The Necklace of Seven Souls is out in Sawad Hussain and Nour Jaljuli’s excellent translation this fall.
