Research Guides

Contemporary Arab Women Writers

Scope of this webpage:

Women writers whose works have been translated into English are included in this bibliography. The writings span nationalism, resistance to misogyny, celebration of women's achievements, religion, and affirmation of women's empowerment in times of war and peace.  The styles vary from the real to the surreal. Translations into English began mainly in the latter part of the twentieth century. Some writers mentioned here have stories and novels written in Arabic and/or French that may one day be translated into English. Some women writers from the Maghreb area of Africa are included.  Please email below if you feel that an author who has been omitted should be listed. 
The videos that are included were taken in Jordan, on a Fulbright-sponsored trip to Mutah University, by Diane d'Almeida.

Algeria

Assia Djebar - born 1936 in Cherchell. [Resides in  Paris]. Works:The Mischief (trans. from French by Frances Frenaye, 1958); Nadia (trans. from French by Frances Frenaye, 1958); A Sister to Scheherazade (trans. from French by Dorothy S. Blair, 1987); Fantasia: an Algerian Cavalcade (trans. from French by Dorothy S. Blair, 1985); So Vast the Prison: a Novel (trans. from French by Betsy Wing, 1999); Far From Medina (trans. from French, 1994 ); Children of the New World: a Novel of the Algerian War (trans. from French by Marjolijn De Jager, 2005).

Aicha Lemsine - born 1942 in Nemencha. Works:  Beneath a Sky of Porphyry (trans. from French by Dorothy S. Blair, 1990); The Chrysalis (trans. from French by Dorothy S. Blair, 1993).

Leila Marouane - born 1960. [Resides in France]. Works: The Abductor (trans. by Felicity McNab, 2000); In French: La fille de la casbah (1996); Le châtiment des hyprocrites (2001); La jeune fille et la mère (2004).

Malika Mokeddem - born 1949 in Kenadsa. [Resides in France].  Works: The Forbidden Woman (trans. from French by K. Melissa Marcus, 1998); Of Dreams and Assassins (trans. from French by K. Melissa Marcus, 2000); Century of Locusts (trans. from French by Laura Rice and Karim Hamdy, 2006).

Ahlam Mosteghanemi - born 1953. [Resides in Beirut]. Works: Memory in the Flesh (trans. from Arabic by Baria Ahmar Sreih, 2000); Chaos of the Senses (trans from Arabic by Baria Ahmar Sreih, 2004). Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 1998.

Leila Sebbar - born 1941 in Aflou. [Resides in France]. Works: Sherazade (trans. from French by Dorothy S. Blair, 1999);  An Algerian Childhood: a Collection of Autobiographical Narratives (trans. from French by Marjolijn de Jager  2001).

Egypt

Radwa Ashour- born 1946 in Cairo.  Works: Granada, a Novel (trans. from Arabic by William Granara, 2003); Siraaj :
an Arab tale (trans. from Arabic by Barbara Romaine, 2007). Short story writer.

Salwa Bakr - born 1949 in Cairo. Works:  Such a Beautiful Voice (trans. from Arabic by Hoda el Sadda, 1992); The Wiles of Men and other Stories (trans. from Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies, 1993); The Golden Chariot (trans. from Arabic by Dinah Manisty, 1995); The Man from Bashmour (trans. from Arabic by Nancy Roberts, 2007).

Nawal El Saadawi - born 1931 in Kafr Tahla. [Resides in Cairo]. Works:  God Dies by the Nile (trans. from Arabic by Sherif Hetata, 1985); Memoirs of a Woman Docter (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 1988); Two Women in One (trans. from Arabic by Osman Nusairi and Jana Gough, 1986); Death of an ex-Minister (trans. from Arabic by Shirley Eber, 1987); She has no Place in Paradise (trans. from Arabic by Shirley Eber, 1989); Searching (trans. from Arabic by Shirley Eber, 1991); The Innocence of the Devil (trans. from Arabic by Sherif Hetata, 1994); Love in the Kingdom of Oil (trans. from Arabic by Basil Hatim & Malcolm Williams, 2001); The Circling Song (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 1989); The Novel (trans. from Arabic by Omnia Amin and Rick London, 2008).  Has been awarded many honorary degrees.

Somaya Ramadan - born 1951 in Cairo. Works: Leaves of Narcissus (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2002). Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 2001.

Alifa Rifaat -  1930 - 1996.  Works:  Distant View of a Minaret : and Other Stories (trans. from Arabic by Denis Johnson-Davies, 1987); and many more works.

Ibtihal Salem - born 1949 in Cairo. Works: Children of the Waters (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2002).

Sahar Tawfiq -  born 1951. Works:  Points of the Compass: stories (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 1995); many works in Arabic.

Ahdaf Soueif - born 1950 in Cairo.  [Resides in England]. Works:  Aisha (1983); In the Eye of the Sun (1992); Sandpiper(1996); The Map of Love (1999); Mezzaterra: Fragments from the Common Ground (2004).

Miral Tahawi - born in Sharkeya.  Works:  The Tent (trans. from Arabic by Anthony Calderbank, 1998); Blue Aubergine (trans. from Arabic by Anthony Calderbank, 2002).

May Talmissani - born 1965 in Cairo. Works: Dunyazad (trans. from Arabic by Roger Allen, 2000);many other novels in Arabic.

Amina Zaydan - born in Suez. Works: Red Wine (trans. from Arabic.) Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 2007.  Short story writer.

Latifa al-Zayyat - born in  Dumyat . 1923-1996. Works:  The Owner of the House (trans. from Arabic by Sophie Bennett, 1997); The Open Door (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2000).

Iraq

Ibtisam Abdulla - born in Iraq. Short stories translated into English by Shakir Mustafa.

Daisy Al Amir - born 1935 in Basra. [Resides in Beirut]. Works: The Waiting List: an Iraqi  Woman's Tale of Alienation (trans. from Arabic by Barbara M. Parmenter, 1994).

Lutfiyya al-Dulaimi - born in Diyala.  [Resides in Jordan].  Has published many works, including novels.  Short stories translated into English by Shakir Mustafa.  VIDEO

Maysalun Hadi - born 1954 in Baghdad. Short story writer and novelists. Some of her works have been translated by Shakir Mustafa.

Hadiya Hussein - born in Baghdad.  Short story writer, as well as a novel Beyond Love (orignally in Arabic).  VIDEO

Inaam Kachachi - born 1951 in Baghdad. [Resides Paris]. Short stories translated by Denys Johnson-Davies.  She has also written novels.

Betul Khudayri- born 1965 in Baghdad. [Resides Amman ]. Works:  A Sky so Close (trans. from Arabic by Muhayman Jamil, 2001); Absent: a Novel (trans. from Arabic by Muhayman Jamil, 2001).

Alia Mamdouh - born 1944 in Iraq [Resides in Paris]. Works: Mothballs (trans. from Arabic by Peter Theroux, 1996); The Loved Ones (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2007). Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 2004.

Samira Al-Mana -  born in Basra. [Resides in London].  Works: The Umbilical Cord (trans. from Arabic by author and edited by Charles Lewis, 2005); short stories translated into English by Shakir Mustafa.

Buthaina Al Nasiri - born 1947. [Resides in Cairo].  Works: Final Night: short stories (trans. from Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies, 2002).

Kuwait

Layla al-Uthman - born 1945 in Kuwait City. Works: Short story writer.

Jordan

Rana Azzoubi - Born 1969 in Amman. Writes books for children. Through a Mud Wall (2006); Million Star Hotel
(2007).        VIDEO

Jameelh Amirah -  Born Amman. Helps run the the literary magazine. Writer of short stories, mainly in Arabic. VIDEO

Basma El-Nsour - Born Amman.  Directs a women's literary magazine in Amman, entitled Taykee. Writer of short stories, mainly in Arabic.   VIDEO

Fadia Faqir - born 1956 in Amman. [Resides in England]. Works: Pillars of Salt  (1996); Nisanit (1987); In the House of Silence: Autobiographical Essays by Arab Women Writers (1998); The Cry of the Dove (2007); My name is Salma (2007).

Samiha Khreis - Born Amman. Short story writer and novelist, mostly in Arabic. Shajarat al-Fuhud ('The family tree of the Fahds') 1995.  VIDEO

Lebanon

Evelyne Accad - born 1943 in Beirut. [Resides Lebanon and USA]. Works: The Excised (trans. from French by David K. Bruner, 1994 ); Wounding Words: a Woman's Journal in Tunisia (trans. from French by Dr. Cynthia T. Hahn, 1996); Coquelicot du massacre = Poppy from the Massacre -- Bilingual Edition  (trans. from French by Cynthia Hahn, 2006).

Huda Barakat - born 1952 in Bsharré. Works: The Stone of Laughter (trans. from Arabic by Sophie Bennett, 1995); The Tiller of Waters (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2001); Disciples of Passion (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2005). Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 2000.

Andree Chedid - born 1920 in Cairo.  [Resides in France]. Works: The Sixth Day (trans. from French by Isobel Strachey, 1987); From Sleep Unbound (trans. from French by Sharon Spencer, 1983); The Return to Beirut (trans. from French by Ros Schwartz, 1989); The Multiple Child (trans. from Arabic by Judith Radke, 1995); Narcissus (trans from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2002). 

Etel Adnan - born 1925 in Beirut. [Resides USA. Paris, Lebanon]. Works: Sitt Marie Rose : a Novel /(1982); and many other writings.

Emily Nasrallah - born 1931 in Kfeir, South Lebanon. [Resides Beifut]. Works: A House not her Own (trans. from Arabic by Thuraya Khalil-Khouri, 1992); Flight Against Time (trans. from Arabic by Issa J. Boullata, 1997).

Hanan al Shaykh - born 1945 in Beirut.  [Resides London].  Works: The Story of Zahra (trans. from Arabic by Peter Ford, 1986); Beirut Blues (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 1995); I Sweep the Sun off Rooftops (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 1998); Women of Sand and Myrrh (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 1989); Only in London (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 2001).

Morocco

Leila Abouzeid - born 1950 in El-Ksiba. Works: The Year of the Elephant (trans. from Arabic by Barbara Parmenter, 1989); The Last Chapter (trans. from Arabic by Leila Abouzeid and John Liechety, 2003); The Director and Other Stories from Morocco (trans. from Arabic by the author, 2005).

Laila Lalami - born 1968 in Rabat. [Resides in USA]. Works: Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (2005).

Fatema Mernissi - born 1940 in Fez. Works: Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood (1994). Many more works. Short story writer.

Palestine

Leila Atrash - Born in Palestine. [Resides in Jordan]. Works: A Woman of Five Seasons (trans. from Arabic by Nora Nweihid Halwani and Christopher Tingley, 2002).  Video

Liana Badr - born 1950 in Jerusalem.  Works: A Compass for the Sunflower (trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham, 1989); A Balcony over the Fakihani (trans. from Arabic by Peter Clark with Christopher Tingley, 1993); The Eye of the Mirror (trans. from Arabic by Samira Kawar, 1994).    

Sahar Khalifeh - born 1942 in Nablus. Works: Wild Thorns (trans. from Arabic by Trevor LeGassick and Elizabeth Fernea, 1985); The Inheritance (trans. from Arabic by Aida Bamia,  2005); The End of Spring (trans. from Arabic by Paula Haydar, 2007); The Image, the Icon, and the Convenant (trans. from Arabic by Aida A Bamia, 2007). Won Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, 2006.

Fadwa Tuqan - 1917-2003 born in Nablus.  Works:  A Mountainous Journey: an Autobiography (trans. from Arabic by Olive Kenny, 1990). Short story writer.

Saudi Arabia

Raja Alem - Born in Mecca. Works: Fatma : a Novel of Arabia  (written with Tom McDonough, 2002);  My Thousand & One Nights: a Novel of Mecca (written with Tom McDonough, 2007).

Raja Sanea - Born 1981. Works: The Girls of Riyad (trans. from Arabic by Marilyn Booth, 2007).

Sudan

Leila Aboulela - born 1964, in Cairo. [Resides in Abu Dhabi]. Works: The Translator (1999); Coloured Lights (2001); Minaret (2004); Leila (2007).

Syria

Myriam Antaki -  Born in Damascus. Works:  Verses of Forgiveness (trans. from French by Marjolijn de Jager, 2002).

Ulfat Idilbi  -  1912-2007 in Damascus. Works: Sabriya: Damuscus Bitter Sweet (trans. from Arabic by Peter Clark, 1997); Grandfather's Tale (trans. from Arabic by Peter Clark, 1998).

Ghadah al Samman - born 1941 in Damascus. [Resides Beirut]. Works: The Square Moon: Supernatural Tale (trans. from Arabic by Iss J. Boullata, 1998).; Beirut 75 (trans. from Arabic by Nancy N. Roberts, 1995); Beirut Nightmares (trans. from Arabic by Nancy N. Roberts, 1997); The Night of the First Billion (trans. from Arabic by Nancy N. Roberts, 2005).

Samar Attar  - born 1940 in Damascus. [Resides Australia]. Works:  The House on Arnus Square (1998); Lina, a Portrait of a Damascene Girl (1994).

Translators

Sophie Bennett
Dorothy S. Blair
Issa J. Boullata
Marilyn Booth lives in England
David K. Bruner
Peter Clark - born in Sheffield, England
Catherine Cobham
Miriam Cooke - lives in Urbana, Ill.
Peter Ford
Cynthia T. Hahn
Nora Nweihid Halwani  - born in Palestine of Lebanese origin, now lives in Beirut.
William Hutchins
Marjolijn De Jager
Denys Johnson-Davies
Salma Khadra Jayyusi    VIDEO
Thuraya Khalil-Khouri
Rick London lives in San Francisco
Shakir Mustafa - born in Iraq, and now lives in the USA.
Christopher Tingley - born in Brighton, England

Anthologies of fiction

The author of the website owes a debt of gratitude to the following works:

Arab Women Writers: an Anthology of Short Stories / edited, translated, and with an introduction by Dalya Cohen-Mor.  Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005.  Mugar: PJ7694.E8 A719 2005      

Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories from the Arabian Gulf/ Deborah S. Akers, Abu Bakr Ahmad Baqadir. Boulder, Colo: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008.  Mugar:  PJ8000.82.E5 O73 2008 

Global Voices: Contemporary Literature from the non-Western World / Arthur W. Biddle, Gloria Bien.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995.

Opening the Gates: an Anthology of Arab Feminist Writing / edited by Margot Badran and Miriam Cooke. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2004.   Mugar:  HQ1784 .O64 2004   

Contemporary Iraqi fiction: an Anthology / edited and translated from the Arabic by Shakir Mustafa. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2008.  Mugar:  PJ8046.5.E5 C66 2008 

In the House of Silence: Arab Women Writers / edited by Fadia Faqir, translated by Shirley Eber and F. Faqir. Reading: Garnet Pub., 1998.  Mugar:  PJ7525.2 .I5 1998 

Arab Women Novelists: the Formative Years / Joseph T. Zeidan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.   Mugar:   PJ7525.2 .Z45 1995

Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak / edited by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976.  Mugar:   HQ1170 .M53 

Under the Naked Sky: Short Stories from the Arab World / selected and translated by Denys Johnson-Davies.  Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2000.   Mugar:  PJ7694.E8 U534 2000 

The Anchor Book of Modern Arabic Fiction / edited by Denys Johnson-Davies. New York: Anchor Books, 2006.   Mugar:   PJ7694.E8 A53 2006 

Arabic Short Stories / translated by Denys Johnson-Davies, with an introduction by Roger Allen.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.  Mugar:  PJ7694.E8 A73 1994 

Arab Womwn Writers: A Critical Reference Guide 1873-1999 - edited by Radwa Ashour, Ferial J. Ghazoul, Hasna Reda-Mekdashi ; AUC Press, 2008.  Mugar: PJ7525.2 .D413 2008  

Websites for further reading

Banipal - an independent literary magazine publishing contemporary authors and poets from all over the Arab world in English translation.

Note: The author would like to acknowledge the good counsel and encouragement of Miriam Cooke and Shakir Mustafa.