''ArabLit'' is an online magazine for information about

translations Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is ''Adab (Islam), Adab'', which comes from a meaning of etiquett ...

into English. The editors also publish ''ArabLit Quarterly'' as a print and electronic magazine, books with selected contemporary Arabic literary works and a daily newsletter about current publications of different genres of Arabic literature in English translation. Further, ''ArabLit'''s promotion of Arabic literature in English has been distinguished by British and Canadian literary awards.

History and profile

''ArabLit'' was founded in 2009 as a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

and has since developed into a source of daily news and views on Arabic literature and translation. On its webpage, in

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

s and its

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel, ''ArabLit'' has published translations, essays and reviews of Arabic literature, often curated by contributing editors, background information on writers and their works, interviews with authors, translators, agents, publishers, booksellers, and booktubers, as well as resources for translators. Since 2018, ''ArabLit Qarterly'' (ALQ) has published thematic magazines, titled for example ''The Song'' or ''Mirrors'', presenting original translations of poetry, essays, short stories and graphic art from different

Arab countries The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. Among many others, authors featured in ''ArabLit Qarterly'' have been

Zakaria Tamer Zakaria Tamer (; born January 2, 1931), also spelled Zakariya Tamir, is a Syrian short story writer. He is one of the most widely read and translated short story writers of modern Syrian literature, as well as one of the foremost authors of chi ...

, Rasha Abbas, Salim Barakat, Abdallah Zrika,

Nazik Al-Malaika Nazik al-Malaika (; 23 August 1923 – 20 June 2007) was an Iraqi poet. Al-Malaika is noted for being among the first Arabic poets to use free verse. Early life and career Al-Malaika was born in Baghdad to a cultured family. Her mother Salma ...

, Layla Balabakki, Yassin Adnan, and Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin. ''ArabLit Qarterly'' is produced and distributed in North America and Europe in print copies, as well as in electronic publications (PDF & e-pub). The ''ArabLit'' Story Prize, launched in 2018, is an award for remarkable works in any genre, newly translated from Arabic into English. In 2020, ALQ Books announced their first limited-edition book, a collection of short stories by Palestinian author

Samira Azzam Samira Azzam () (13 September 1927 – 8 August 1967) was a Palestinian writer, broadcaster, and translator known for her collections of short stories. In 1948, Azzam fled Palestine with her husband and family in the Nakba. Her collections of sto ...

, translated by Ranya Abdel Rahman, with an introduction by

Adania Shibli Adania Shibli () is a Palestinian author and essayist. She is mainly known for the 2020 translation of her 2017 novel '' Minor Detail'' into English by Elisabeth Jaquette, as well as its 2022 translation into German by Günther Orth, which for ...

and foreword by Joseph Farag. Apart from ''ArabLit'''s founder and

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

, Marcia Lynx Qualey, the editorial team is made up of contributing and guest editors, with special focus on Algerian, Iraqi,

Sudanese The demographics of Sudan include the Sudanese people () and their characteristics, Sudan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. In Sudan' ...

or other Arabic literatures. In an article about the literary qualities of books by Arab writers and in relationship to their cultural background in German magazine ''Dis:Orient'', Qualey was quoted that she firmly believes in translation as an art form different from writing, that is nevertheless a separate creative act. ''ArabLit, ArabLit Quarterly'' and ALQ Books are produced by a

crowd-funded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

collective, supported by

subscriber The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It i ...

s and, to a lesser extent,

advertisers Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

. According to the editors, they have no affiliation with any institution and do not receive any institutional support. Lynx Qualey also has translated Arabic novels for young readers, such as ''Thunderbirds'' by Palestinian writer Sonia Nimr, written on Arabic books for teens and participated in academic forums. She and other literary translators and consultants publish the website ''ArabKidLitNow!'', promoting translated Arabic literature written for children and young readers. Further, she has written articles about Arabic literature and translations for the online magazine

qantara.de Qantara.de (Classical Arabic: , meaning 'bridge') is an Internet portal in German, English, and Arabic, produced by the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations in order to promote intercultural dialogue between the Western and Islam ...

and news channels such as

Middle East Eye ''Middle East Eye'' (MEE) is a United Kingdom-based media website and channel that primarily focuses on news related to the Middle East, North Africa, and the broader Muslim world. The ownership of the organisation is undisclosed. Some sources ...

and Al-Jazeera News. For her "huge impact on the amount and range of Arabic literature available in English today", Lynx Qualey was distinguished with the 2024 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature, named in honour of the first chair of

Words Without Borders ''Words Without Borders'' (''WWB'') is an international magazine open to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the world's best writing and authors who are not easily accessible to English-speaking readers. The ...

magazine, Jim Ottaway, Jr. Following several daily newsletters about literature and writers from Gaza during the war in Gaza, ''ArabLit Quarterly'''s spring 2024 issue was published in cooperation with Gaza literary magazine ''Majalla 28'', presenting literature and fine art from the Gaza territory.

Arabic women in translation

Every August, ''ArabLit'' highlights literature by Arab women during the Women in Translation Month, founded by the book blogger Meytal Radzinski in 2014. This initiative, related to the Three Percent website at

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, has stressed the small number of international translated books of only 3% in the US book market. ''ArabLit's'' Women in Translation Month highlights Arab women’s presence in English translations, both as authors, translators, graphic artists or literary scholars. On average, 70% of Arabic translations to English have been works by Arab male authors. The remaining 30% of translations were written by women, while many of the authors and the majority of translators of contemporary Arab literature are women. Referring to publishers' recent interest in Arab women writers, often just based on stereotypical attitudes towards women and regardless of their works' literary value, ''ArabLit'' quoted Syrian writer Abeer Esber who said that “Unfortunately, women in Arab countries are currently finding it easier, for all the wrong reasons, to find a publisher for their books.” The recommended books for 2022 included fiction by Malika Moustadraf, Sonia Nimr, Jokha al-Harthi, Maya Abu al-Hayyat, Samira Azzam, Bushra Al-Maqtari, Stella Gaitano and Djamila Morani.

Awards

In 2017, ''ArabLit'' won the Literary Translation Initiative Award at the

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and d ...

. The magazine

Broken Pencil ''Broken Pencil'' was a quarterly Canadian magazine based in Toronto, Canada that profiled zine culture and independent arts and music. It was founded in 1995, and it closed in 2024. History ''Broken Pencil'' was founded in 1995 by Hal Niedzvi ...

distinguished ''ArabLit Quarterly's'' edition ''The Strange'' with their 2019

Zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

Award as Best Literary Microjournal, based on “The kaleidoscope of works… ..striking in their individual depth and relative divergence.”

References

External links

Official website

Marcia Lynx Qualey
on Twitter
Bila Hudood
(Without Borders), ''ArabLit'''s channel on YouTube *Syrian writer Abeer Esber on the male-female debate
Respect, Not Labels
{{Authority control Online literary magazines Arabic literature Literary translation magazines Literary translation websites Magazines established in 2009

History and profile

Arabic women in translation

Awards

See also

References

Further reading

External links