Join editor Jordan Elgrably and author Omar El-Akkad for readings from their acclaimed new book, Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction.End times are approximate. Events may end early or late.
Location: Tompkins Square Library
331 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10009
Fully accessible to wheelchairs
Tickets for Free: REGISTER HERE
Stories from the Center of the World gathers new writing from the greater Middle East (or SWANA), a vast region that stretches from Southwest Asia, through the Middle East and Turkey, and across Northern Africa. The 25 authors come from a wide range of cultures and countries, including Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco, to name a few. This unique collection of voices and viewpoints illuminates life in the global Arab/Muslim world.
At this special New York event, editor Jordan Elgrably and Omar El-Akkad, author of The Icarist, a story in the collection, will read selected works from the collection.
Doors will open 30 minutes before the program begins. For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. If you register for multiple tickets, please provide the name of each person who will be attending the event or arrive with your entire party present.
Only registered patrons will be granted entry into the event space. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form 30 minutes before the program.
This event is co-presented with the New York Public Library
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Jordan Elgrably is a French, American and Moroccan writer, editor and translator, based in Montpellier and California. The editor-in-chief of The Markaz Review, he is the editor of Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction (City Lights 2024) and co-editor with Malu Halasa of Sumūd: a New Palestinian Reader (Seven Stories Press, 2024).
Omar El Akkad is an author and a journalist. His books, including American War and What Strange Paradise, have been translated into 13 languages. He is a two-time winner of both the Oregon Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Association Award. He lives just south of Portland, Oregon, where he is on the faculty of the Pacific University MFA in Writing program.
