Discover six unforgettable reads from DarArab, bridging cultures through translation. Each one is a window into a different voice, place, and moment in the Arab world.
1. Safe Corridor by Jan Dost
Translated by: Marilyn Booth
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Pages: 186 | Price: £10.00 | Category: Novel
Safe Corridor is a surreal, coming-of-age story about war and imagination. As Kamiran’s body turns to chalk, he pours his memories into the object that started it all. This translated Arabic novel explores displacement, memory, and resilience with tender surrealism.
🏆 Winner of Bait Alghasham DarArab International Translation Prize 2024 – Translators Category.
More info | Read the first chapter for free
2. Premonitions News Flash by Yass Assaidi
Translated by: Mbarek Sryfi
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Pages: 100 | Price: £10.00 | Category: Poetry
A searing poetic vision of violence and loss, Premonitions News Flash gives voice to fathers, martyrs, and ghosts. Winner of the 2024 Bait AlGhasham DarArab Translation Prize.
🏆 Winner of Bait Alghasham DarArab International Translation Prize 2024 – Authors Category.
More info | Read the first chapter for free
3. The Rock of the Land by Ahmad Vall Dine
Translated by: Mbarek Sryfi
Publication Date: September 11, 2025
Pages: 172 | Price: £12.00 | Category: Memoir & Political Journalism
A journalist’s account of Afghanistan’s modern tragedies—from the fall of Kabul to the haunting aftermath. The Rock of the Land is a standout work of Arabic war reportage.
More info | Read the first chapter for free
4. Mario and Abu L-Abbas by Reem Bassiouney
Translated by: Roger Allen
Publication Date: October 15, 2025
Pages: 414 | Price: £19.00 | Category: Novel
A visionary historical novel of spiritual friendship, exile, and architecture. The story moves between 13th-century Tunisia and modern Alexandria, blending devotion with design.
More info | Read the first chapter for free
5. The Sailor’s Secret by Younis AlAkhzami
Translated by: Mbarek Sryfi
Publication Date: November 17, 2025
Pages: 303 | Price: £14.00 | Category: Novel
Blending myth and mysticism, The Sailor’s Secret tells the story of a boy washed ashore in Ras Madrakah, where the desert and sea become sacred maps of destiny.
6. The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer by Belal Fadl
Translated by: Osama Hammad
Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Pages: 300 | Price: £14.00 | Category: Novel
A darkly comic coming-of-age tale set in 1990s Cairo. A runaway teen finds shelter in a crumbling flat with an eccentric landlady and her volatile son. Satirical, raw, and full of heart.
🏆 Longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2022
Why This List Matters
DarArab’s 2025 list champions contemporary Arabic literature in translation. These works explore identity, conflict, exile, and imagination. They are bridges—between cultures, times, and readers.