Shut-eye

Two stories about sleep from Mohamed Kheir’s brilliant short story collection رمش العين (Kotob Khan, 2014) [Eyelash]. Kheir is perhaps best known as a poet, with three poetry collections published by Merit ليل خارجي (Outer Night, 2002), بارانويا (Paranoia, 2008) and هدايا الوحدة (The Gifts of Loneliness, 2010), with a fourth, excellent collection released this year by Kotob Khan, العادات السيئة للماضي (The Bad Habits of the Past), which Muhamed Abdel Nabi has written about here. This is Mohamed’s second short story collection after عفاريت الراديو (Dar Malamih, 2008) [Radio Devils]. He has written one novel to date, the very fine سماء أقرب [Merit, 2013] (A Closer Sky). Abdel Nabi has also written about Eyelash, here, and Daily News Egypt recently published an interview with Kheir in English, which can be found here.

Mustajab VII

A short story from Muhammed Mustajab‘s collection قيام وانهيار آل مستجاب (Maktabat Al Usra, 1998) [The Rise and Fall of Clan Mustajab].

Sorting Shelves

A short story by Yasser Abdel Latif published by Akhbar Al Adab on the 22nd of January 2011 and which can be found here.

The Next President of Egypt

A short story by journalist, writer and translator Nael El Toukhy, published in Akhbar Al Adab on January 14th this year. The Arabic is here on the magazine’s website. To date he has published one short story collection, تغيرات فنية (The Supreme Council for Culture, 2003) [Technical Changes], two novellas, ليلى أنطون (Merit, 2006) [Leila Anton] and بابل مفتاح العالم (Merit, 2007) [Babel, Key to the World], and a novel, الألفين وستة، قصة الحرب الكبيرة (Merit, 2006) [2006: The Story of the Big War]. A second novel, نساء الكرنتينا [The Women of Karantena] will shortly be released by Merit. Among other things he maintains a blog of Hebrew literature translated into Arabic.

Country Train

A short story by novelist, poet, critic and screenwriter Yasser Abdel Latif published on the 18th of September in شرفات [Balconies] the culture supplement of جريدة عمان [The Oman Daily], though it is not available on their website. Abdel Latif is the author of a single novel, قانون الوراثة (Dar Merit, 2002) [Law of Inheritance] for which he won the 2005 Sawiris Cultural Award. It is currently being translated. He also has a collection of short stories يونس في احشاء الحوت (Kotob Khan, 2011) [Jonah in the Belly of the Whale] and two collections of poetry ناس وأحجار [People and Stones] and جولة ليلية (Dar Merit, 2009) [Night Tour]. 

Cairo

A short story by Ihab Abdel Hamid from his collection قصص قميص هاواي (Merit, 2010) [Hawaiian Shirt] which won the Yusuf Idris short story competition in 2010. He is also the author of the excellent novel, عشاق خائبون (Merit, 2005) [Failed Lovers], a small excerpt of which has been translated by Samia Mehrez here.

The Battle of the Rabbits

A short story by Muhammed Mustajab from his collection القصص الأخرى (Madbouli Bookshop, 1986) [The Other Stories]. Mustajab was prolific but remains largely untranslated, though perhaps his best book ديروط الشريف ومن التاريخ السري لنعمان عبد الحافظ which combines a novella written in 1983 and a short story collection produced a year later, has been translated by Humphrey Davies with the title Tales from Dayrut. 

My Mother

A short story by Hamdi Abu Golayyel originally from his collection أشياء مطوية بعناية فائقة (GEBO, 2000) [Things Folded With Great Care] reviewed here and included in a later compilation entitled طي الخيام (Merit, 2010) [The Folding Of The Tents], reviewed here.