In Short: ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly

PEN Translates’ Latest Winners Earlier this week, English PEN announced the latest winners of their flagship grant program, the "PEN Translates" award.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/23/pen-translates-latest-winners/

On the Choice to Write in Colloquial Arabic "Some classical poets feel that the popularity of colloquial writers has nothing to do with the quality of their work, but rather because they have chosen the easier path."... https://arablit.org/2026/07/21/on-the-choice-to-write-in-colloquial-arabic/

New Poetry in Translation: Sayed Abolela’s ‘Cinema’ This poem is from a forthcoming collection,  مصمم معارك, to be published by the General Egyptian Book Organization.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/20/new-poetry-in-translation-sayed-abolelas-cinema/

New on Bulaq: Episode 120 Listen to episode 120 of the BULAQ podcast, with a focus on literatures of the Maghreb and Mashreq.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/17/new-on-bulaq-episode-120/

Classic Short Fiction: ‘A Criminal Against His Will’ "It was five o'clock in the morning. The station, faintly illuminated by dim lamps, lay beneath a murky canopy of locomotive smoke. Qasim stood beside the steps of one of the coaches, gazing at the station clock."... https://arablit.org/2026/07/16/classic-short-fiction-a-criminal-against-his-will/

In Memory: ‘Oh Stones Cloaked in Grief’ In memory of the July 2025 massacres in Sweida, Syria.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/14/in-memory-oh-stones-cloaked-in-grief/

World Cup Lit: From ‘Hot Maroc’ This excerpt appeared in the FOOTBALL issue of ArabLit Quarterly, which you can still get in print and digital. ... https://arablit.org/2026/07/09/world-cup-lit-from-hot-maroc/

The Markaz Review Launches Its First Lit Prizes The Markaz Reviewtoday announced the launch of its first-ever literary prizes for "emerging and established writers from the SWANA (Middle East, North Africa, and Southwest Asia) region and its diasporas" either written in or translated into English.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/08/the-markaz-review-launches-its-first-lit-prizes/

A Football Chant for Egypt In celebration of the World Cup, a football chant from Egypt.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/07/a-football-chant-for-egypt/

World Cup Lit: Syrians on the Pitch In celebration of the World Cup, writing by Luqman Derky, who is "not only a poet and actor but also a gifted amateur futbulji who, under slightly different circumstances, could well have started a professional career."... https://arablit.org/2026/07/07/world-cup-lit-syrians-on-the-pitch/

Azhar Writing Prize Announces Its 2026 Winners The Azhar Writing Prize -- a prize for new, unpublished work in English by Arab writers -- today announced its first-, second- and third-place winners. The three winners will share a total prize pool of £3850.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/06/azhar-writing-prize-announces-its-2026-winners/

World Cup Short Fiction: Adania Shibli’s ‘A Tin Ball’ This week, we're celebrating the World Cup with work from our Fall 2021 FOOTBALL issue.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/06/world-cup-short-fiction-adania-shiblis-a-tin-ball/

Sponsored: Deadline is Nearing – Authors & Translators Submit Now Got a powerful piece of Arabic writing or an amazing translation of one? Let the world read it.... https://arablit.org/2026/01/01/sponsored-deadline-is-nearing-authors-translators-submit-now/

Forthcoming July 2026: Fantasy and the Fantastic This month, the magic of Suleima's ring and a look at the modern Arabic fantastic.... https://arablit.org/2026/07/01/forthcoming-july-2026-fantasy-and-the-fantastic/

Translating Trauma, the Trauma of Translating Here, Leri Price talks about the referred trauma (and guilt) of translating testimonies from a genocide, how she worked with translators bringing the book into other languages, and the particular challenges of translating this book.... https://arablit.org/2026/06/25/translating-trauma-the-trauma-of-translating/

Sahar Khalifeh’s ‘Free’ In this excerpt from Sahar Khalifeh's ‘A Novel for My Story,’ by turns playful and serious, the novelist describes the moment she freed herself from her marriage and other people's expectations of what her life could be.... https://arablit.org/2026/06/23/sahar-khalifehs-free/

Classic Short Fiction by Ali Al-Douagi "Ah, how immense my delight when I saw the moving cart piled high with carpets, lamps, and sacks of every size and color!"... https://arablit.org/2026/06/22/classic-short-fiction-by-ali-al-douagi/