Rowayat seeks original writing for upcoming online publications. Submission categories are Fiction, CNF, Poetry, Flash Fiction, Comics, Art, Reviews and Interviews - in English or French or Arabic in translation. Contributors do not need to identify as Arab/SWANA descent, provided their work is in dialogue with the transnational social realities of the Afro/Arab regions and their diaspora communities. Contributors may also decide to expand this reality altogether.

Rowayat accepts unsolicited submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction during our reading periods. We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as your submission is accepted elsewhere. We aim to respond within 3 months.

Our review process is semi-anonymous (our readers do not know the names of submitters, and then they pass all submissions to the genre editors. You may submit to more than one genre (but only 1 submission per genre—thank you!).

Masthead

Meet Rowayat’s Guest Editors for Issue #10: Borders

September 15th-October 31st 2024

Wael al-Mahdi is Rowayat’s Managing Editor, wael@rowayat.org

Wael Almahdi is a poet, translator, and healthcare professional from Bahrain, and the recipient of a High Commendation from the Stephen Spender Poetry Prize. His Arabic translations include works by the National Poet of Wales, Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, the Centennial Scriptures of Won Buddhism, and literature for the 2024 Diriyah Biennale. In recent years, Wael has explored the terminological and thematic impact of Arabic and Persian literature on Islamicate cultures. This exploration has culminated in his forthcoming poetry collection, A Breeze From The East, which showcases Mashriqi English, a novel poetic register that blends the rich Perso-Arabic literary tradition with the full expressive power of Modern English.

Ibrahim Fawzy is Rowayat’s Editorial Assistant, ibrahim@rowayat.org

He is an Egyptian literary translator and academic who holds an MA in Comparative Literature. He was awarded a mentorship with the National Center for Writing, UK (2022/2023). His translations, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared or are forthcoming in ArabLit Quarterly, Words Without Borders, The Markaz Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal and elsewhere. He also podcasts at New Books Network. His debut book Belonging to Prison will be published by Cambridge Scholars this summer.  

Fatima ElKalay is Rowayat’s Poetry Editor, fatima@rowayat.org

She holds an M. Litt in Creative Writing from Central Queensland University. Her work has been shortlisted for the London Independent Story Prize and the ArabLit Story Prize for short fiction in translation. Her first collaborative collection, Dessert for Three combines fiction and memoir, and was published by Rowayat in 2022.

Taher Adel is Rowayat’s Assistant Poetry Editor, taher@rowayat.org

Taher Adel, a British-Bahraini poet and spoken word artist, holds an MA in Creative Writing and Poetry from the University of East Anglia. He has served as a judge for the Stephen Spender Poetry Prize and was appointed the Poet in Residence for Wells-next-the-Sea in 2019. His literary contributions include titles such as ‘I Don’t Know What Language I Dream In’ (Burning Eye Books, Sept ’23), ‘The Names’ (translated into Arabic by Rewayat Reads), ‘The Chosen Names’ and ‘The Divine Names’ (both from Sun Behind The Cloud). Beyond his books, Adel’s works have been showcased in various esteemed publications and platforms, including Ambit, SMOKE Magazine, The New European, Gulf Daily News, Glassworks Magazine, Tedx, BBC Radio 4, Poetry London Magazine, and Poetry Salzburg Review.

Hammad Rind is Rowayat’s Fiction Editor, hammad@rowayat.org

Hammad Rind is a multilingual Welsh-Pakistani writer and translator, working across English, Urdu, Persian, Welsh and more. His debut novel for Dervishes (Seren Books, 2021) was longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association Award. In 2022, he translated Knotted Griefby poet Naveen Kishore into Urdu (Zuka Books). Hammad was part of the 2023 cohort of the Representing Wales writing programme and the 2024 cohort of the Hay Literature Writers at Work programme. His stories and articles have appeared in various publications, including Poetry Wales, James Joyce Broadsheet, The Aleph Review, The Madras Courier, and Y Stamp. Hammad holds a BA in English and Persian literatures from the Punjab University, Lahore, and an MA in filmmaking from the Kingston University, London. A passionate language enthusiast, he teaches Persian and Urdu, and has led workshops on creative writing and Eastern literature. He is currently working on his second novel.

Mohsen Mohamed is Rowayat’s Arabic Literature Editor, mohsen@rowayat.org

Mohsen Mohamed is an Egyptian poet born in 1994. His poetry collection entitled, مفيش رقم بيرد (No One Is on the Line in English Laertes Press 2023), was published in 2020 by Dar El Meraya for Cultural Production. It won first prize for vernacular poetry at the Cairo International Book Fair and the Sawiris Cultural Award. In 2014, in the aftermath of a student demonstration (in which he did not participate), while coming to the aid of a young woman, Mohamed was caught up in a sweep of arrests on his campus. His life as a poet began during the five years he spent in prison.

Sara Imam is Rowayat’s Social Media and Children’s literature Managing Editor, sara@rowayat.org

Sara Imam is an Egyptian storyteller focusing on education, development and celebrating diversity through stories. Blending ancient lore with contemporary nuances. In 2019, Imam attended an intensive oral storytelling workshop in Amsterdam that ended with her first solo performance. Under the tutelage of storyteller Chirine Al-Ansary since 2020, Sara has honed her craft, captivating audiences of both children and adults alike. She is a member of Irtigalia Honn, an improv theatre troupe founded by Ramsi Lehner, she is also an actress at sitara theater for children and a trainer at Aspire Community Training and Consulting company. 

• Rowayat Editorial Interns for Issue 10:
• Mai Khaled is a Cairo-based writer with a BA in English Language and Literature from Cairo University in 2022. Currently pursuing her MA in English Literature, she balances her academic work with writing for her Substack newsletter, The Ibis Tongue. Her writing delves into themes of language, silence, and identity. Beyond the written word, she enjoys music, cinema, birdwatching, and tarot reading.
• Abdullah O. Jimoh(He/him) is a linguist and poet from Lagos, Nigeria. His works have appeared or are forthcoming in Tab Journal, Radon Journal, Broken Antler Magazine, South Florida Poetry Journal, Modern Poetry in Translation, A Long House, Mudroom, Tint Journal, Gyroscope Review, Efiko Magazine and elsewhere.