The following selection of books have been recommended and reviewed by the LEILA project’s jury members who are Arabic literature specialists, many of them translators and writers themselves. These recommendations have been chosen with European publishers in mind, who are interested in finding out more about books from the Arab world. When available, contact information for foreign rights (author, agent, or publisher) is provided.
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A 30-year-old privileged Egyptian man consumed by his fears and desires, set to the backdrop of the 2011 Egyptian revolution -
A personal and political journey of a Tunisian militant -
Muslim and Jewish Algerians fighting against French occupation -
An intergenerational magical-realist story about war and conflict in Sudan -
A timely portrayal of human life under late capitalism, in a world simmering with lust and fear -
An exquisite scream of clever rage at the contemporary moment -
Exploring Cairo through love stories that failed by a hair -
A Tunisian girl in Baghdad of the 1980s -
The impact of conflict on everyday life in Libya -
An officer effortlessly slaughters a rival ethnic group before realising he is part of it as well -
Contemporary Syria from a dark psychedelic perspective -
An ironic cookbook and serious socio-political commentary -
In this novel, the Saudi writer Omaima El Khamis tells a fascinating story that takes place during the 11th century -
The reminiscences of a Lebanese intellectual haunted by the loss of his two lovers -
A love spell that travels across time and space
