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Fiction

vintage classic television
Photo by Ross Co on Pexels.
1973–1978: The Green March
By Najwa Bin Shatwan
As Gaddafi’s radical policies take hold in Libya, a family grapples with fear, loss, and the threat of betrayal in this excerpt from Najwa Bin Shatwan’s novel Concerto, shortlisted for the IPAF in 2023.
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Soldier observing from an abandoned vehicle
Photo by AMORIE SAM on Pexels.
Colonel Ali at Wadi Doum
By Kawther Eljehmi
Set against the backdrop of Libya’s turbulent political landscape, this excerpt from The Colonel by Kawther Eljehmi explores the complexities of survival, loyalty, and identity.
Translated from Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman
William James Müller painting
William James Müller, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tripoli, 1911
By Aisha Ibrahim
As Italy invades Tripoli in 1911, a young girl witnesses the beginnings of war in this excerpt from Aisha Ibrahim’s Box of Sand, longlisted for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Translated from Arabic by Nashwa Nasreldin
Color photo of books stacked in a fireplace.
Photo by Svetlana Gumerova on Unsplash..
Abusive Motherland
By Yulia Yakovleva
Russian refugee Anya struggles with the trauma of immigrant life in Norway in this excerpt from Yulia Yakovleva’s Abusive Motherland.
Translated from Russian by Lindsay Munford
shadow on concrete wall
Photo by Plato Terentev on Pexels.
By Any Other Name
By Kim Heejin
“That seems more accurate, yes. That’s what I’m like. A shadow.”
Translated from Korean by Paige Aniyah Morris
brown and black mold spots
Photo by Andrew Small on Unsplash.
The Brightest World I Knew
By Lim Sol-A
On days I wore sneakers, I was treated as abled, and on days I wore sandals, I was treated as disabled.
Translated from Korean by Clare Richards
MultimediaMultilingual
sound waves
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash.
The Hearing-Aid Brigade
By Adèle Rosenfeld
Suddenly the world felt incredibly sad. What battle to fight, and for who, if each battle bore the seed of its own destruction?
Translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
MultimediaMultilingual
Man riding a motorcycle
Photo by Aditya Rathod on Unsplash.
Saira Banu on Chacha’s Motorcycle
By Mridula Garg
Gul’s silky, delicately stitched gharara looked so gorgeous, she swooned at her own reflection.
Translated from Hindi by Aditya Vikram Shrivastava
Multilingual
florist shop
Photo by Anastasia Koren on Pexels.
The Paradise Lily
By Sirpa Kähkönen
I couldn't get my heart to calm down that morning no matter how much I breathed and built a day out of the pieces I had to work with.
Translated from Finnish by Lola Rogers
MultimediaMultilingual
space gray iPhone
Photo by Nicolas Thomas on Unsplash.
Viral
By Mahua Sen Mukhopadhyay
Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Mukul would upload the video to Facebook. It went viral in a day.
Translated from Bengali by Sayari Debnath
A robotic hand emerges from the bottom of the image against a blue background.
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels..
A Small Extinction: Part 2
By Bora Chung
“Even if there isn’t anyone next to me, there will always be people inside my head.”
Translated from Korean by Anton Hur
A black-and-white photo of a transparent mannequin.
Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels..
A Small Extinction: Part 1
By Bora Chung
“But it makes no sense to become a robot so you can be a better parent! What is the child going to learn from a machine mother?
Translated from Korean by Anton Hur
A photo of the wing of an Ethiopian Airlines airplane.
Photo by Wolf T on Pexels.. Public Domain.
Special Flight 709
By Baalu Girma
We all know each other; we are all connected somehow, tightly or loosely. We are all from the same generation. Young, in a hurry, ambitious.
Translated from Amharic by David DeGusta & Mesfin Felleke Yirgu
A close-up photo of a puzzle on a table.
Photo by Maria Sol Ponce on Unsplash
A Brand-New Language
By Dinçer Güçyeter
After all, I was nearly seven and could take on some responsibility.
Translated from German by Lucy Jones
Low Angle Shot of the Ornate Facade of Ben Youssef Madrasa mosque, Morocco.
Photo by Uiliam Nörnberg on Pexels.. Public Domain.
The Imam’s Anxiety
By Mohamed Akounad
“How does it feel to hear the word of God in the language you understand?” 
Translated from Tamazight by El Habib Louai
Photo of a lit fireplace with newspaper and logs burning.
Photo by Anton Darius on Unsplash
Ravens’ Bread
By Azergui
In my country, dreams are monitored . . . One should only dream feasible dreams, and not exhaust oneself in the madness of impossible ones, like revolution!
Translated from Tamazight by Hamid Ouyachi
Multilingual
A white mug spilling milk onto an ochre mug, which is tilted towards a black mug.
Photo by Claudia Carbungco from Unsplash. Public domain.
Nameless
By Rema Hmoud
Ever since that particular night, I’d felt an entire universe taking shape inside my womb.
Translated from Arabic by Ibrahim Fawzy
Multilingual
A scorpion is on a rocky surface. The colours are inverted as the photo was taken under a UV light.
Photo by Shaan Hurley from Openverse. Public domain.
Vertigo
By Hisham Bustani
Once a week (sometimes more), he swallowed his pride and took money from his father, and he got used to it.
Translated from Arabic by Addie Leak
Multilingual
Sticks, leaves, and other foliage reflected in the surface of a pond
Photo by Ran Liwen on Unsplash
At the Edge of the Marsh
By Can Xue
“Uncle Ji is a sore point with your dad,” Mama said.
Translated from Chinese by Karen Gernant
A snail with a light brown shell crawling on a terrain that seems to be moss-covered concrete
Photo by Min An from Pexels. Public domain.
Snail Diaries
By Soňa Uriková
Miško wrote in his diary that snails are asinine.
Translated from Slovak by Magdalena Mullek
Multilingual
Sharpened pencils sit in a row.
Flickr
Kiêu
By Khuê Phạm
Let me begin this story with a confession: I don’t know how to pronounce my own name.
Translated by Daryl Lindsey & Charles Hawley
A wild boar bounds through a field.
Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
City of Wild Boars
By Derek Chung
Whenever too many wild boars started to appear, or disturbed the citizens, there would be an “operation.”
Translated from Chinese by May Huang
MultimediaMultilingual
A picture of a white and gold living room set (sofa, mirror, table, and lamp) in a furniture store.
Photo by Max Vakhtbovycn via Pexels. Creative Commons.
The VANISHÄVEN Furniture System: A Demonstration
By Emma Braslavsky
VANISHÄVEN helps us enjoy the moment with the piece of furniture and appreciate it as long as it is there, and then also to let go when it has to vanish.
Translated from German by Holly Yanacek
A green bike rests against a wooden shed.
Pickpik
Our Major Jacobina
By Marília Arnaud
While my friends gathered on the dirt field to play soccer or capture the flag or to trade sports cards, I would keep Major Jacobina company in his office.
Translated from Portuguese by Ilze Duarte
MultimediaMultilingual
july-2024-p-pod-feature
Muséum de Toulouse
, CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons
P-Pod
By Kaori Fujino
In our civilized society, meeting a uniform standard for physical ability and beauty is a basic human right.
Translated from Japanese by The TamaGO Collective
A cargo ship in a dock.
Photo via Rawpixels. Public domain.
The Haves and the Have-Nots
By Kristian Lundberg
When you’re a kid, being poor is hell on earth.
Translated from Swedish by Helga Edström
A picture of a street dog and the shadow of a person wearing a hat on a wall beside it.
Photo by Nesrin Öztürk. Public Domain.
Deadbeat
By Paul Tavo
Did he once have a wife? Most likely.
Translated from French by Colin Anderson
A picture of three military helicopters flying.
Picture by Elen Schurova, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
i had a country once
By Chantal T. Spitz
and beneath the new sci-fi city lie rotting the ruins and corpses of olden days
Translated from French by Jean Anderson
A pencil sketch of a couple embracing each other.
Art by Bramine Hubrecht Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum. Public domain
Behind Closed Doors
By Déwé Gorodé
After several drinks and hours of hot, slow dances where they melted into each other, he offered to take her home.
Translated from French by Mandy Hewett
A black-and-white photo of a small wooden railway station with large trees in the background. A...
Lelydorp Station, 1947. Willem van de Poll, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Birthday Present
By Bea Vianen
She could strangle Ajodiadei. The old woman is one of the only guilty ones still alive.
Translated from Dutch by Kristen Gehrman
Image of a standing dry pomegranate half on a black background
Photo by Thomas Murphy on Unsplash
Meat and Pomegranate
By Cho Yeeun
Then she heard a gnawing. Urgent, like a starved animal ripping pieces of meat to devour.
Translated from Korean by Sung Ryu
A jumble of colorful knit scarves and gloves in a drawer
Photo by Olha Yarova on Unsplash
Jiro
By Igiaba Scego
In this excerpt from Igiaba Scego’s Cassandra a Mogadiscio, a writer considers how her diasporic Somali family has managed to remain close despite the distances—and the many languages—between them.
Translated from Italian by Barbara Ofosu-Somuah
Multimedia
Image of a pair of golden crescent-shaped earrings
Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Golden Earring
By O‘tkir Hoshimov
My mother was very careful with those gold crescent-shaped earrings, boasting that they were a gift from her mother-in-law.
Translated from Uzbek by Sabrina Jaszi
MultimediaMultilingual
View of the Las Vegas skyline
Photo by Britta Preusse on Unsplash
Godshow.com
By Ahmed Naji
Another “only in Vegas” site: a yacht graveyard in the middle of the desert.
Translated from Arabic by Rana Asfour
Two halves of a brown egg shell
Photo by Dennis Anderson on Unsplash
Mamali
By Leyla Shukurova
The news that Mamali’s youngest daughter has decided to go study in Baku somehow spreads quickly through their village—much more quickly than Ulfet has counted on. 
Translated from Russian by Sabrina Jaszi
MultimediaMultilingual
Collection of pearl necklaces on a black background
Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash
Shakharbanu’s Curse
By Lira Konys
Whenever I think of the old woman, I remember her not as my great-grandmother but as the first person I learned to loathe.
Translated from Kazakh by Mirgul Kali
Breathtaking image of a temple in Nepal with snowy mountains in the background
Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash
Nepal
By Marina Gudelj
Mom was like, ‘The Himalayas? She’s never even climbed the Mosor, right here on her doorstep.’
Translated from Croatian by Ena Selimović
MultimediaMultilingual
Close-up of cucumber plant hanging from a green fence
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
The Greenhouse
By Fatema Haidari
I could see her white hands and long, thin fingers among the green stems and huge leaves of the cucumber plants.
Translated from Dari by Shekiba Habib
Ablution facility with white and gray tiles
Glogger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Gray-Winged Pigeons of the Shrine
By Batool Haidari
I had written “fifth grade” on my application for this job five years ago. But my father, who had been dead for years, hadn’t actually let me study for more than a year.
Translated from Dari by Zubair Popalzai
A thick mist over the woods
Photo by Artem Sapegin on Unsplash
Ruins
By Mélodie Joseph
For just a moment, in the darkness of the swamp, her sunken eyes glinted with a bloodshot sparkle.
Translated from French by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch
Sunlight illuminates a forest
Photo by Jan Huber on Unsplash
Welcome, Alyson
By J. D. Kurtness
When Bastien reported his mother missing on June 13, the investigator who received his complaint by phone assured him that there was nothing to worry about.
Translated from French by Hannah Allen-Shim
Multimedia
A close-up image of a rusty wire fence
Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
Resurgence
By Ayavi Lake
Reflexively, she shakes the grating as if to convince herself that no beastly strength could tear it loose and free the horde.
Translated from French by H Felix Chau Bradley
A waterfront cityscape with a magenta glow
Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash
Chlorosis
By Ariane Gélinas
Taking painkillers is for cowards. It’s time for you to think about your first extraction, Clément.
Translated from French by Remy Attig
Multimedia
A slice of lemon floating in gin and tonic served in a glass
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Specimen
By Joyce Baker
Ophélie smiles idly, everything spins, the air stops, space-time tears, clocks grind.
Translated from French by E. S. Taillon
Multimedia
An image of three elevator doors in a white lobby
Photo by Edwin Chen on Unsplash
A Song for Sleep
By Bora Chung
A human has attempted to communicate with me by physical means.
Translated from Korean by Anton Hur
A broom on a dark wooden floor
Photo by Neal E. Johnson on Unsplash
Three Nights
By Lyubov Kroneva
That's all we need, her mother says, you two fighting over a man, I’d understand if it were over property, not that we have any . . . but a man!
Translated from Bulgarian by Petya Pavlova
Multimedia
Curved asphalt road on a foggy day in Lebanon
Photo by Dorsa Masghati on Unsplash
A Child’s Smile
By Jadd Hilal
After a dozen or so bombings, Jahid, like my mother had before him, decided we would flee.
Translated from French by Lara Vergnaud
Multilingual
A bowl of plump raisins
Photo by Andreas Haslinger on Unsplash
Kowsar’s Visitor
By Siamak Herawi
“If Kowsar’s education is of no use to her and of no importance to you,” Teacher Sadeq says sharply, “then why did you send her to school?”
Translated from Persian by Sara Khalili
A bed of red and yellow busy lizzies
Photo by Michael Elliott Photography
A Mother’s Voice
By Silvia Arazi
Over coffee, my brother pulls up his chair and discreetly asks me if I’m going to write that book about our mother.
Translated from Spanish by Charlotte Coombe
A photograph of Bornholm's rocky seashore and cliff
Photo by Julia Caesar on Unsplash
Sandvig Beach
By Hubert Klimko-Dobrzaniecki
The next time we went to the beach I had to parade around in a lurid life jacket, looking like a visitor from another planet.
Translated from Polish by Jonathan Baines
Multilingual
Red sparks and flames on a black background
Photo by Ben Moreland on Unsplash
Progeny
By La. Sa. Ramamirtham
I looked around, waking up from the miracle of my birth.
Translated from Tamil by Subhashree Beeman
Multimedia
A black-and-white photo of an interrogation room
Photo by Jonny Clow on Unsplash
It Started with a Phone Call
By Appadurai Muttulingam
First, we were taken to a private room and stripped and searched.
Translated from Tamil by Thila Varghese
MultimediaMultilingual
Black-and-white sketches of the human skeletal system
Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash
Letter to Juan in Space
By Armonía Somers
From there, he went straight out to wage no-holds-barred warfare on everyone and everything.
Translated from Spanish by Kit Maude
A cluster of green and flowering cacti
Photo by Brandon Hoogenboom on Unsplash
Far Beyond the Sun
By Denise Phé-Funchal
Grandma goes inside the house and a few minutes later comes out with a small ax in her hand.
Translated from Spanish by David Unger
MultimediaMultilingual
A large, shallow river with pines on the opposite bank and mountains in the distance
Nameri National Park. Photo by Debuapriyo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Smell of Bamboo Blossoms
By Yeshe Dorje Thongchi
Bamboo had been an intimate part of his life since his birth, but he had never known bamboo to produce seeds.
Translated from Assamese by Aruni Kashyap
A rocky stream in a tropical forest
Photo by Livestart Stiven on Unsplash
Catalina Loango
By Bernardino Pérez Miranda
There was only one way to escape the enchantment: the victim’s godmother had to call her name out loud three times at the door of Palenque’s church.
Translated from Palenquero by Armin Schwegler
MultimediaMultilingual
An empty train tunnel curves into the distance
Photo by Emile Guillemot on Unsplash
Reunion
By Han Song
No one knows what Beijing West will look like tomorrow.
Translated from Chinese by Carson Ramsdell
Damascus street
© Vyacheslav Argenberg / http://www.vascoplanet.com/, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mohammad and Youssef
By Omar Youssef Souleimane
Mohammad is torn between fear and excitement. He doesn’t know this man. What if he’s an informant?
Translated from French by Ghada Mourad
Vines on a beige wall
Photo by Belle Hunt on Unsplash
The Writer’s Wife
By Maru Ayase
She has an innocence, a purity of mind like a delicate glass vessel, untainted by soiled ideas or thoughts.
Translated from Japanese by Haydn Trowell
Bright green fabric
Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash
Man of Satin
By Souhaib Ayoub
He smoked incessantly. I watched him with a silent longing.
Translated from Arabic by Sharon Grosso