The writers were selected from more than 200 applications from the Arab world and beyond, following the open call launched in December 2024. An advisory committee comprised of Alexandra Chreiteh (novelist, Lebanon), Miled Faiza (poet & translator, Tunisia), and Sara Abu Ghazal (writer, Palestine/Lebanon) helped guide the selection process. The program provides writers with the opportunity to dedicate up to three months to complete a new writing project. The writers are:
Ahmed Awadalla (b. 1985, Egypt) to complete The King of Cairo’s Underworld: Desire, Empire, and the Life of Ibrahim El Gharby, a book that explores British colonialism and Egyptian nation-building, and how they have reshaped gender and sexual norms in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Through the life of Ibrahim El Gharby—a cross-dressing Nubian brothel kingpin—Ahmed’s work examines colonial governance, racial hierarchies, and the imposition of moral orders. It bridges narrative nonfiction, archival storytelling, and critical fabulation, drawing inspiration from Saidiya Hartman’s method of writing against the archive. Ahmed is a writer and transdisciplinary artist. Their practice spans critical research, creative nonfiction, and moving images, exploring marginality as a site of insight, resistance, and imagination.
Esraa Shaalan (b. 1993, Egypt) to work on Hayat, a novel set in a Cairo apartment building and narrated by Hayat, the soul of the doorman’s daughter. Through magical realism and meta-narration, the story sheds light on domestic violence and agency as Hayat’s soul attempts to reconcile with her past and defy the boundaries between life and death. The narration explores class divisions, rigid gender roles, and the confines of societal norms. Esraa is an Egyptian writer whose work often explores memory, loss, and the blurred lines between reality and the imagined. Her most recent short story appears in the collective book What Asmahan Didn’t Tell the Sea, published by Waziz.
Mai Abozeed (b. 1983, Egypt) to finish Some of What Happens on My Pillow—a collection of short stories that examines her “understanding of seduction, connection to gold, view on baladi dance, relationship to [her] father, death of [her] infant, and the desire to have male children.” Using symbolism, Mai’s work philosophizes daily life and explores identity, estrangement, and the tension between one’s internal and external worlds. Mai holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political sciences (2004). She worked as a cultural editor at Rose El Youssef and Al-Badil newspapers. She published her novel, Not Just One Mirror (Dar Mirit, 2015), whose manuscript came in second for the New Culture magazine in 2010. She also published a short story collection, Ala Mistabat Azzaman (Umm El-Dunia, 2023). She co-wrote Sweet Dreams, a series directed by Hala Khalil (2022), and authored and acted in two films, Normal Coffee and Two Eyes.
Mustafa Khalid Mustafa (b. 1998, Sudan) to work on Ziryab, a queer love story between a singer, Ziryab, and his lover in Omdurman. Set in war-torn Sudan, Mustafa’s novel explores prison life, love, identity, and the daily aspects and challenges that the queer community faces in Sudan. Mustafa is a Sudanese doctor and novelist. He has published four literary works, comprising novels and short stories. He has received several awards, including Al-Tayeb Salih Prize in (2022) Bait Al-Ghasham Award (2025), Nirvana Literary Prize (2020) and AFAC grant (2023). He has participated in and conducted literary workshops in various Sudanese states and academic institutions.
Safaa Iskandar (b. 1990, Iraq) to work on Americans, a collection of short stories that addresses the daily life of Iraqis following the US invasion in 2003. Safaa’s calm narration of everyday images turns them into evocative memories of what it’s like to live through sudden change and a crumbling system. Safaa holds a BSc in chemistry from the Mustansiriyah University. His published works include Intonations of a Rose, My Aunt and Anton Chekhov, and Against Love, the End of Things. His works have been translated into Persian, Spanish, and Italian. His first solo exhibit, Oriental Music, took place in Madrid.
Yasmine Zohdi (b. 1988, Egypt) to work on Claiming the Light, a novel made up of six distinct chapters. It spans a few years in the life of Mariam, a young journalist who grapples with death and desire amidst fraught domestic relationships and a tumultuous public sphere. It questions the city-body binary, personal liberties vis-a-vis family constraints, powerlessness in moments of political transformation, and urban middle-class hypocrisy, particularly its camouflaged forms of oppression against women. Yasmine is a writer, translator, and editor based in Cairo. She holds a BA in political science from Cairo University and an MFA in Writing (Fiction) from Sarah Lawrence College, New York. Yasmine has worked in cultural journalism (with a focus on film critique) since 2013, and is an alumna of the Berlinale’s Talent Press program. Her writings and translations have appeared in Mada Masr, Bidoun, Words Without Borders, ArabLit, Ma3azef, and elsewhere. She is currently working on her first novel.
