Beirut39 presents 39 of the best young Arab writers from around the world. Ranging from Saudi Arabia to Morocco, from France to Syria and from Lebanon to Holland and the USA, and taking in poetry, short stories and extracts from novels, the collection showcases the vibrancy and diversity of writing across the Arab world which has not been widely represented in the West until now. The publication is part of Beirut 39, a Hay Festival project to celebrate Arab writers under the age of 40. The judges who selected the writers from almost five hundred candidates were Egyptian literary critic, Gaber Asfour; Lebanese poet and cultural editor of the international daily Al-Hayat newspaper, Abdo Wazen; Lebanese writer, Alawiya Sobh; and Omani poet and editor-in-chief of the Omani cultural magazine Nazwa, Saif al-Rahbi.
‘Brimming with exuberance and sparkling with innovation.’
Guardian
