Stories from the Middle East
Fiction | Spring 2017
Founded in 1960, the American University in Cairo Press has been the leading publisher of Arabic fiction in English translation for many years. Our authors are world renowned and include Naguib Mahfouz, the only writer of Arabic to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Mahfouz was followed to the Press by uniquely talented writers who received wide critical acclaim in English translation—Ibrahim al-Koni, Sahar Khalifeh, Alaa Al Aswany, Betool Khedairi, Bahaa Taher, Hala El Badry, Gamal al-Ghitani, Miral al-Tahawy, Ibrahim Nasrallah, and Yusuf Idris among them. The AUC Press proudly launched Hoopoe in Spring 2016.
Stories from the Middle East We hope you’ve enjoyed what we’ve published so far, and this spring we present six extraordinary new novels from Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and America. We are delighted to publish the Naguib Mahfouz Medal-winning novel No Road to Paradise, an eloquent story of a disillusioned imam from renowned Lebanese novelist Hassan Daoud. We introduce you to a new voice in Egyptian fiction, Yasser Abdel Hafez, through his intriguing narrative of modern Cairo, The Book of Safety. We present Kamal Ruhayyim’s homecoming story, Menorahs and Minarets, as well as a new edition of groundbreaking Egyptian feminist writer Latifa al-Zayyat’s seminal work The Open Door. Alongside these extraordinary stories from the Middle East, this season we publish a pair of outstanding novels from the Arab diaspora: acclaimed American-Iraqi writer Sinan Antoon’s poignant tale of modern Iraq, The Baghdad Eucharist; and Ezzedine C. Fishere’s captivating Egyptian immigrant novel Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge.
The Baghdad Eucharist Sinan Antoon Displaced by the sectarian violence in the city, Maha and her husband are taken in by a distant cousin, Youssef. As the growing turmoil around them seeps into their household, a rare argument breaks out between the elderly Youssef and his young guest. Born into sanctions and war, Maha knows nothing of Iraq’s good years that Youssef holds dear. Set over a single day, The Baghdad Eucharist is an intimate story of love, memory, and anguish in one Christian family. Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Sinan Antoon is an award-winning poet, novelist, and translator. He was born in Iraq, and moved to America in 1991 after the Gulf War. He received his PhD from Harvard University and is currently associate professor of Arabic literature at New York University. He is a co-founder and co-editor of Jadaliyya. Maia Tabet is a literary translator, journalist, and editor, who has translated prominent authors such as Elias Khoury. She was born in Beirut and is currently based in Baltimore in the United States. 2
The poignant story of a city with two pasts
$14.95 • £9.99 136pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 820 8 April 2017 (US), May 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Political; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Religious BIC: Modern & Contemporary fiction, Fiction in Translation, Religious & Spiritual Fiction, Political / Legal Thriller
Sales points: • Shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Acclaimed, prize-winning ArabAmerican author • Highly topical, set within sectarian conflict of modern Iraq Rights: English ISBN:World 978-977-416-820-8
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Praise for The Baghdad Eucharist “Faithfully reproduces the difficult conversations between an Iraqi Christian family housed in Baghdad.”—The Guardian “A beautiful text, a testimony of the time of mud and blood that besieges Iraq and the Arab East . . . in very moving language, this Iraqi novelist writes his country with the ink of pain.”—Elias Khoury, author of Gate of the Sun “Like a masterful filmmaker, twenty-four hours is all that Antoon needs to present a modern-day Iraqi tragedy in his elegant novel.” —Al-Jazeera
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Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge Ezzedine C. Fishere On the eve of Salma’s twenty-first birthday, scattered friends and family converge on New York for a celebration organized by Darwish, her obstinate grandfather. Each guest’s journey to this fated gathering takes on an unexpected significance, as they find themselves revisiting the choices they have made in life, and rethinking their relationships with one another and with the country in which they live. Traveling seamlessly between Egypt and the United States, Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge is a story about how we construct and shift our identities, and about a family’s search for home. Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Ezzedine C. Fishere is an acclaimed Egyptian writer, academic, and diplomat. He has written numerous successful and best-selling novels and he also writes political articles for Arabic, English, and French news outlets. He currently teaches at Dartmouth College in the US. John Peate is a translator, university lecturer, and academic researcher based in the UK.
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An Egyptian-American family comes together to face what has kept them apart
$14.95 • £9.99 168pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 819 2 April 2017 (US), May 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Psychological; Fiction / General BIC: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction in Translation
Sales points: • Shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Acclaimed Egyptian author, US-based with international profile • Intimate look at Arab-American life Rights: World ex. Arabic ISBN: 978-977-416-819-2
9 789774 168192
Praise for Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge “Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge is a remarkable novel for its style, its plot, and its reach into the experience of straddling two worlds and two states of being.”—Banipal “A deeper view of the world of Arabs abroad . . . [Brooklyn Bridge] represents the symbol of Arab immigrants without carrying their usual stereotypical qualities.”—Al-Ahram Online “Ezzedine C. Fishere . . . taking his literary career to new heights.” —Egypt Independent 5
No Road to Paradise Hassan Daoud In a small Lebanese village a disillusioned imam, diagnosed with terminal cancer, must face his demons. Having consented to an arranged marriage, he has found himself in a loveless union and lusts after another. To please his family, he took up the robe and turban of his forefathers but the expected path to fulfillment did not unfold before him. Meticulous, sparse prose quietly evokes the essence of rural life and the burden of tradition. Hassan Daoud’s masterful novel plumbs the depths of a man’s struggle with religion and his place in the world. Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2015
Hassan Daoud, born in Beirut in 1950, holds a master’s degree in Arabic literature and has taught creative writing at the Lebanese American University. He is the editorial director of al-Mudun news website and is on the editorial board of the quarterly magazine Kalamon. He is the author of three short story collections and ten novels. The translator of numerous works of Arabic fiction, Marilyn Booth is professor of the contemporary Arab world at Oxford University. 6
The moving tale of an imam who abandons his calling
$17.95 • £11.99 304pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 817 8 April 2017 (US), May 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Religious; Fiction / Psychological; Fiction / Literary BIC: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction in Translation, Religious & Spiritual Fiction
Sales points: • Winner of Naguib Mahfouz Medal • Noted author, been translated into several languages • Insightful exploration of religious society ISBN:World 978-977-416-817-8 Rights: ex. Arabic
9 789774 168178
Praise for No Road to Paradise “The work’s insights are Proustian in their precision. . . . The lucid, calm, uncluttered style gives the book a unique voice.”—Humphrey Davies, translator of The Yacoubian Building “A unique novel par excellence.”—Rasheed El-Enany, Exeter University “Hassan Daoud is one of Lebanon’s most important living writers.”—Max Weiss, Princeton University
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The Book of Safety Yasser Abdel Hafez Khaled transcribes testimonies at the Palace of Confessions, a shadowy state-run agency situated in a respectable Cairo suburb. There he encounters Mustafa Ismail: a university professor turned master thief, who breaks into the homes of the great and the good and then blackmails them into silence. Mustafa has dedicated his existence to the perfection of his trade and authored The Book of Safety, the ultimate guide to successful thievery. With cool and incisive prose, Yasser Abdel Hafez follows Khaled into obsession with this mysterious book and its author.
Yasser Abdel Hafez is a journalist and novelist, and is an editor at the literary magazine Akhbar al-Adab. His first novel On the Occasion of Life was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He lives in Cairo. Robin Moger is the translator of Otared by Mohammad Rabie and Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, among other books. His translation for Writing Revolution won the 2013 English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa. 8
An intriguing and unexpected narrative of modern Cairo
$16.95 • £9.99 288pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 821 5 March 2017 (US), April 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction/ Mystery & Detective / Fiction Psychological BIC: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction in Translation, Crime & Mystery
Sales points: • Unusual story of modern Cairo • Universal themes, will travel well • Up and coming Egyptian author Rights: World ex. Arabic ISBN: 978-977-416-821-5
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Praise for The Book of Safety “This novel creates a world, though small, that is so finely woven it leaves no space for conventional criticism.”—al-Hayat “The reader can tell from the very first moment that they’re in the presence of an insurgent writer.”—Masress
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Menorahs and Minarets Kamal Ruhayyim After ten years in Paris, Galal returns to Cairo, where he finds a society in transformation. Egypt is Galal’s home, but he feels he no longer belongs there. He is caught between his two identities: his Jewish mother’s family are cosmopolitan business people, while his father’s family are rural farmers from the Delta. Kamal Ruhayyim paints an uncompromising portrait of an older generation dictating how their children live and love. Menorahs and Minarets is the concluding part of Ruhayyim’s compelling trilogy.
A rare story of Egypt’s disappeared Jewish community $16.95 • £9.99 • 264pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 831 4 • March 2017 (US), April 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Psychological; Fiction / Religious BIC: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction in Translation, Religious & Spiritual Fiction
Sales points: • Part of trilogy about Cairo’s Jewish community • Important, little-addressed subject • Accessibly written ISBN: 978-977-416-831-4
Rights: World ex. Arabic
9 789774 168314
Kamal Ruhayyim, born in Egypt in 1947, is the author of a collection of short stories and five novels, including Diary of a Jewish Muslim and Days in the Diaspora. Translated by Sarah Enany 10
The Open Door Latifa al-Zayyat February 1946: Cairo is engulfed by demonstrations against the British. Layla’s older brother Mahmud returns, wounded in the clashes, and the events of that fateful day mark a turning point in her life, an awakening to the world around her. Latifa al-Zayyat’s acclaimed modern classic follows Layla through her sexual and political coming of age. Her rebellious spirit seeks to free itself from the stifling social codes that dictate a young woman’s life, just as Egypt struggles to shake off the yoke of imperialist rule.
A landmark in women’s writing set during Egyptian independence $17.95 • £9.99 • 392pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 827 7 • March 2017 (US), April 2017 (ROW) BISAC: Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Political BIC: Modern & Contemporary Fiction, Fiction in Translation, Political / Legal Thriller, Historical Fiction
Sales points: • Landmark Arabic novel—pioneering feminist, anticolonialist work • Set in key historical period: end of British rule in Egypt
ISBN: 978-977-416-827-7
• Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal Rights: World ex. Arabic
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Latifa al-Zayyat (1923–96) struggled all her life to uphold just causes of national integrity, social justice, and human rights. She was a professor of English literature at Ain Shams University, Cairo, and The Open Door is recognized as her magnum opus. Translated by Marilyn Booth 11
The Longing of the Dervish Hammour Ziada At the close of the nineteenth century, freed slave Bakhit is let out of prison with the overthrow of the Mahdist state in Sudan. On the brink of death, the memory of his beloved Theodora is all that has sustained him through seven years of grim incarceration—that and his vow to avenge her killing. Set against a backdrop of war, religious fervor, and the monumental social and political upheavals of the time, The Longing of the Dervish is a love story in the most unlikely of circumstances. Lyrical and evocative, Hammour Ziada’s masterfully crafted novel is about sorrow, hope, and the cruelty of fate. Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2014 Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Hammour Ziada was born in Umm Durman, Sudan, in 1977. He has worked as a civil society and human rights researcher, and is currently a journalist based in Cairo. He is the author of two novels and two collections of short stories. Translator of the winning novel in the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and winner of the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, Jonathan Wright was formerly the Reuters bureau chief in Cairo. He has translated Alaa Al-Aswany, Youssef Ziedan, and Hassan Blassim. He lives in London, UK. 12
An epic of love and revenge in a time of war and slavery
$17.95 • £9.99 304pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 788 1 September 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Romance / Historical; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary BIC: Modern and Contemporary Fiction; Fiction in Translation; Historical Romance
Sales points: • Bestseller in Arabic and winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal • Set in a key period in Middle Eastern/ British colonial history • Addresses issues that will resonate today: race, slavery, religious ISBN: 978-977-416-788-1 extremism
Rights: World ex. Arabic
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Praise for The Longing of the Dervish: “Neither starry-eyed nor cynical, Ziada constructs, in exquisitely lyrical language, the story of Bakhit’s love for the white woman who finds solace in his company but cannot imagine marrying a slave. A rich and sensitive novel, The Longing of the Dervish reflects on tolerance, prejudice and freedom in ways that transcend its historic setting.”—Financial Times “Explores a seminal moment in the region’s history.”—The Guardian
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No Knives in the Kitchens of This City Khaled Khalifa In the once beautiful city of Aleppo, one Syrian family descends into tragedy and ruin. Irrepressible Sawsan flirts with militias, the ruling party, and finally religion, seeking but never finding salvation. She and her siblings and mother are slowly choked in violence and decay, as their lives are plundered by a brutal regime. Set between the 1960s and 2000s, No Knives in the Kitchens of This City unravels the systems of fear and control under Assad. With eloquence and startling honesty, it speaks of the persecution of a whole society. Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature 2013 Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Khaled Khalifa was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1964. A founding editor of the literary magazine Alif, he is the author of four novels, including In Praise of Hatred. He has also written numerous scripts for TV dramas and films, a number of which have won awards, and screenplays for several feature films. He lives in Damascus, Syria. Leri Price is a translator of contemporary Arabic literature. Her translation of Khaled Khalifa’s In Praise of Hatred was longlisted for the 2013 Independent Prize for Foreign Fiction. She lives in the UK. 14
A profound portrayal of life under tyranny by an acclaimed Syrian writer
$16.95 • £9.99 244pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 781 2 October 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Political; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation, Political / legal thriller
Sales points: • Acclaimed author • Winner of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal, shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Very topical: about Syria and life under Assad ISBN:World 978-977-416-781-2 Rights: English
9 789774 167812
Praise for No Knives in the Kitchens of This City “One of the rising stars of Arab fiction . . . a rare public voice.”—New York Times “Intricately plotted, chronologically complicated and a pleasure to read. . . . The writing is superb—a dense, luxurious realism pricked with surprising metaphors.”—The Guardian “Critically acclaimed . . . [No Knives] traces the degrading and destructive impact of Syria’s dictatorship on the lives of a family from Aleppo.” —Financial Times
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Otared Mohammad Rabie 2025: fourteen years after the failed revolution, Egypt is invaded once more. As traumatized Egyptians eke out a feral existence in Cairo’s dusty downtown, former cop Ahmed Otared joins a group of fellow officers seeking Egypt’s liberation through the barrel of a gun. As Cairo becomes a foul cauldron of drugs, sex, and senseless violence, Otared finally understands his country’s fate. In this unflinching and grisly novel, Mohammad Rabie envisages a grim future for Egypt, where death is the only certainty. Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Born in 1978, Mohammad Rabie is the author of three acclaimed novels. His first novel, Amber’s Planet, won first prize in the Emerging Writers category of the Sawiris Cultural Award in 2012. He lives in Cairo, Egypt. Robin Moger is the translator of Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, among other books, and his translation for Writing Revolution won the 2013 English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa. 16
A horror-filled obituary on Egypt’s failed revolution
$17.95 • £9.99 352pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 784 3 September 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Suspense; Fiction / Mystery and Detective; Fiction / Horror BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation, Crime & Mystery, Thriller / Suspense, Science Fiction
Sales points: • Shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Sleek, accessible writing • Contemporary dystopian theme with wide commercial appeal ISBN: 978-977-416-784-3
Rights: World ex. Arabic, Swedish, Finnish
9 789774 167843
Praise for Otared “Part early Ian McEwan, part Philip K. Dick, Mohammad Rabie’s apocalyptic take on the Arab Spring in Egypt is an expressionist coup—urgent, disturbing, and eminently readable.”—Youssef Rakha, author of The Crocodiles and The Book of the Sultan’s Seal “Shocks the reader to attention.”—The National “Gritty.”—The New York Times
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A Beautiful White Cat Walks with Me Youssef Fadel Hassan makes a living in his native Marrakesh as a comic writer and performer, through his satirical sketches critical of Morocco’s rulers. Yet when he is suddenly conscripted into a losing war in the Sahara, and drafted to a far-flung desert outpost, it seems that all is lost. Could his estranged father, close to power as the king’s private jester, be behind it all? And will he ever see his beloved wife Zinab again? With flowing prose and black humor, Youssef Fadel subtly tells the story of 1980s Morocco.
A modern Moroccan tale of power, love, and loss $16.95 • £10.99 • 232pp • Paperback Original • 978 977 416 776 8 • October 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Political; Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Literary BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation, Political / Legal Thriller
Sales points: • Part of author’s modern Morocco series • Concerns a pivotal period in Moroccan history • Well-respected, prize-winning author Rights: World English, ex. Arabic, French ISBN: 978-977-416-776-8
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Award-winning novelist and screenwriter Youssef Fadel was born in Casablanca in 1949. He has written over ten novels. Translated by Alexander E. Elinson 18
A Rare Blue Bird Flies with Me Youssef Fadel Spring, 1990. After years of searching in vain, a stranger passes a scrap of paper to Zina. It’s from Aziz: the man who vanished the day after their wedding almost two decades ago. It propels Zina on a final quest for a secret desert jail in southern Morocco, where her husband crouches in despair, dreaming of his former life. Youssef Fadel pays powerful testament to a terrible period in Morocco’s history, known as ‘the Years of Cinders and Lead,’ and masterfully evokes the suffering inflicted on those who supported the failed coup against King Hassan II in 1972.
Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction $16.95 • £8.99 • 248pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 754 6 • April 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Political; Fiction / Romance / Historical / C20th BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation
Sales points: • Shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Part of author’s modern Morocco series • Well respected, prize-winning author actively engaged in promotion ISBN: 978-977-416-754-6
Rights: World ex. Arabic, French
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Award-winning novelist and screenwriter Youssef Fadel was born in Casablanca in 1949. He has written over ten novels. Translated by Jonathan Smolin 19
The Televangelist Ibrahim Essa Meet Egypt’s top TV preacher Hatem el-Shenawi:a national celebrity revered by housewives and politicians alike for delivering Islam to the masses. Charismatic and quick-witted, he has friends in high places. But when he is entrusted with a secret that threatens to wreak havocacross the country,h e is drawnintoa web of political intrigueatthe very heart of government. Can Hatem’s fame and fortune save him from this unspeakable scandal? Shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
Bestselling Egyptian author Ibrahim Essa is a renowned journalist, TV personality, and political commentator. He lives in Cairo, Egypt. Translator of the winning novel in the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and winner of the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, Jonathan Wright was formerly the Reuters bureau chief in Cairo. He has translated Alaa Al-Aswany, Youssef Ziedan, and Hassan Blassim. He lives in London, UK.
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The bestselling political thriller from one of Egypt’s most outspoken journalists
$16.95 • £10.99 488pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 718 8 • March 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Thrillers / Political; Fiction / Literary BIC: Fiction in Translation, Thriller / Suspense
Sales points: • Bestseller in Arabic • Shortlisted for the “Arabic Booker” • Critiques organized religion
ISBN: 978-977-416-718-8
Rights: World English
9 789774 167188 >
Praise for The Televangelist: “A powerful commentary on Islam in modern Egypt with deep insight for Westerners.”—Washington Independent “A master of the Arabic language . . . [Essa] delivers a double dose of wit, humor, and political satire, combined with painstaking knowledge of religion and the media world . . . Fascinating.”—Egypt Independent “The novel of the season . . . a compelling testimony about this era.” —The Egyptian Daily
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Whitefly Abdelilah Hamdouchi When a fourth corpse in three days washes up in Tangier with a bullet in the chest, Detective Laafrit knows this isn’t just another illegal immigrant who didn’t make it to the Spanish coast. The traffickers. The drug dealers. The smugglers. They know what it takes to get a gun into Morocco, and so does Laafrit. As his team hunts for the gun, Laafrit follows a hunch and reveals an international conspiracy to unlock the case. Whitefly is a fast-paced crime thriller from the Arab west.
Born in Meknès, Morocco in 1958, Abdelilah Hamdouchi is one of the first writers of police fiction in Arabic and a prolific, award-winning screenwriter of police thrillers. Many of his novels, including the acclaimed The Final Bet, address democracy and human rights issues. He lives in Rabat, Morocco. Translator Jonathan Smolin is the author of Moroccan Noir: Police, Crime, and Politics in Popular Culture (2013). He lives in Hanover, NH.
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“I want that gun, even if it’s in a fish’s stomach.”
$14.95 • £7.99 144pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 751 5 • March 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Crime; Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Police Procedural; Fiction / Thrillers / Political BIC: Crime & Mystery, Fiction in Translation
Sales points: • Successful Moroccan crime writer • Accessible style with broad commerical appeal • Contemporary, topical backdrop of illegal immigration to Europe
ISBN: 978-977-416-751-5
Rights: World ex. Arabic, French, Macedonian
9 789774 167515 >
Praise for Whitefly: “The plotting is tight and watching the story’s resolution unfold is a delight. . . . As a guilty-pleasure read, it is a winner.”—The National “A refreshing and refined crime thriller . . . . Events unfold cleanly, with a sniper’s precision.”—Banipal “Abdelilah Hamdouchi seems to have found the formula for the emergence of the Moroccan detective novel.”—Libération Kaleidoscope
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Time of White Horses Ibrahim Nasrallah Spanning the collapse of Ottoman rule and the British Mandate in Palestine, Time of White Horses is the story of three generations of a defiant family from the Palestinian village of Hadiya before 1948. Through the lives of Hajj Mahmud, elder of Hadiya, his son Khaled, and Khaled’s grandson Naji, we enter the lives of a tribe whose fate is decided by one colonizer after another. Khaled’s remarkable white mare, Hamama, and her descendants feel and share the family’s struggles and as a siege grips Hadiya, it falls to Khaled to save his people from a descending tyranny.
Ibrahim Nasrallah is considered one of the most influential voices of his generation. Raised in a refugee camp to Palestinian parents, he became a journalist before turning to creative writing. His work includes fourteen novels. He lives in Amman, Jordan. An award-winning translator of Naguib Mahfouz, Ghada Samman, and Mohamed ElBisatie, Nancy Roberts also lives in Amman, Jordan.
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“Truly the novel that the Palestinian catastrophe has awaited.”—Salma Khadra Jayyusi
$18.95 • £10.99 664pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 757 7 April 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Literary; Fiction / Sagas BIC: Fiction in Translation, Sagas
Sales points: • Shortlisted for the “Arab Booker” • A work of noted political importance for the Israeli Occupation of Palestine • World-renowned author and critically acclaimed novel
ISBN: 978-977-416-757-7
Rights: World English
9 789774 167577 >
Praise for Time of White Horses: “Nasrallah paints a vivid portrait of the idiosyncratic villagers . . . . Roberts’s translation is excellent.”—Times Literary Supplement “Men are murdered or executed, demolitions and collective punishment meted out, ancestral lands taken at a stroke. One learns the lesson that the behavior of any oppressor is the same, regardless of time or circumstance.”—Banipal “Nasrallah’s intensely eloquent voice gives Western audiences an insight into the lives of the marginalized without rattling off numbers.” —New Statesman 25
The Time-Travels of the Man Who Sold Pickles and Sweets Khairy Shalaby Ibn Shalaby, like many Egyptians, is looking for a job. Yet, unlike most of his fellow citizens, he is prone to sudden dislocations in time. On this wild and whimsical adventure, he bounces uncontrollably through Egypt’s rich and varied past, with occasional return visits to the 1990s. He meets, befriends, and falls out with sultans, poets, and an assortment of celebrities—from Naguib Mahfouz to the founder of the city of Cairo. Khairy Shalaby’s nimble storytelling brings this witty odyssey to life.
The misadventures of a modern time traveler through Egypt’s recent and medieval past $17.95 • £10.99 • 336pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 792 8 • October 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Historical; Fiction / Science Fiction; Fiction / Literary BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation, Historical fiction, Science fiction
Sales points: • Acclaimed, prize-winning Egyptian author • Quirky, yet accessible • Unconventional look at modern and historic Egypt
ISBN: 978-977-416-792-8
Rights: World English
9 789774 167928
Khairy Shalaby (1938–2011) was born in Egypt’s Nile Delta. He wrote numerous novels, short stories, historical tales, and critical studies. He won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2003. Translated by Michael Cooperson 26
The Final Bet Abdelilah Hamdouchi When young and handsome Othman married Sofia—sophisticated, French, rich, and forty years his senior—he found his ticket out of a life of desperate poverty in the slums of Casablanca. But when Sofia is brutally murdered, the police quickly zero in on Othman as the prime suspect. He certainly has motive, but is he guilty? Or has he been framed by an overzealous, corrupt police force?
“Hamdouchi seems to have found the formula for the emergence of the Moroccan detective novel.”—Libération Kaleidoscope $14.95 • £8.99 • 144pp • Paperback Original 978 977 416 779 9 • September 2016 BISAC: Fiction / Mystery & Detective; Fiction / Thriller; Fiction / Literary BIC: Fiction Modern & Contemporary, Fiction in Translation, Thriller / Suspense, Crime & mystery
Sales points: • The first Arabic detective novel to be translated into English • Accessibly written, broad commercial appeal • Popular, salable crime genre ISBN: 978-977-416-779-9
Rights: World ex. Arabic
9 789774 167799
Born in Meknès, Morocco in 1958, Abdelilah Hamdouchi is one of the first writers of police fiction in Arabic and a prolific, award-winning screenwriter of police thrillers. He lives in Rabat, Morocco. Translated by Jonathan Smolin 27
Hoopoe Titles The Baghdad Eucharist Sinan Antoon A Beautiful White Cat Walks with Me Youssef Fadel The Book of Safety Yasser Abdel Hafez Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge Ezzedine C. Fishere The Final Bet Abdelilah Hamdouchi The Longing of the Dervish Hammour Ziada Menorahs and Minarets Kamal Ruhayyim No Knives in the Kitchens of This City Khaled Khalifa No Road to Paradise Hassan Daoud The Open Door Latifa al-Zayyat Otared Mohammad Rabie A Rare Blue Bird Walks with Me Youssef Fadel The Televangelist Ibrahim Essa The Time-Travels of the Man Who Sold Pickles and Sweets Khairy Shalaby Time of White Horses Ibrahim Nasrallah Whitefly Abdelilah Hamdouchi
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Hoopoe is an imprint of the American University in Cairo Press SALES North America, Oxford University Press T: 800-445-9714 | F: 919-677-1303 E: custserv.us@oup.com UK & ROW, I.B.Tauris T: +44 (0) 20 7243 1225 F: +44 (0) 20 7243 1226 Paul Davighi: pdavighi@ibtauris.com Egypt, AUC Press Angela Hafez: angelah@aucegypt.edu Trevor Naylor: trevornaylor@aucegypt.edu MARKETING & PUBLICITY US & Canada, AUC Press T: 212-730-8800 ext. 4546 | F: 212-730-1600 Tarek El-Elaimy: telaimy@aucegypt.edu UK, I.B.Tauris Bianca Schmauch: bschmauch@ibtauris.com Egypt & ROW, AUC Press Basma El Manialawi: basma.manialawi@aucegypt.edu EDITORIAL Nadine El-Hadi: nadine.elhadi@aucegypt.edu RIGHTS Doug Wallace: doug.wallace@aucegypt.edu
hoopoe is an imprint for engaged, open-minded readers hungry for outstanding fiction that challenges headlines, re-imagines histories, and celebrates original storytelling. Through elegant paperback and digital editions, hoopoe champions bold, contemporary writers from across the Middle East alongside some of the finest, groundbreaking authors of earlier generations. At hoopoefiction.com, curious and adventurous readers from around the world will find new writing, interviews, and criticism from our authors, translators, and editors.
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