Arabic literature faces global reach challenges despite translation, experts say at SIBF 2026

Translating Arabic literature is only the first step towards reaching international readers, scholars and translators said at the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2026), pointing to cultural context, publishing priorities and promotion as decisive factors.

The session, organised by Kitab Magazine and moderated by Ali Al-Ameri, featured Dr Safa Jubran, Dr Mhamed Dahi, Dr Sana Darghmouni and Haitham Hussein. They discussed the opportunities and obstacles facing Arabic writing in other languages.

Dr Jubran, a Lebanese-Brazilian academic who translates between Arabic and Portuguese, said direct equivalents often fail to carry the cultural and political meanings of the original. A translator, she said, must focus on “conveying the soul of the expression”.

Moroccan literary critic Dr Dahi traced how Arabic literature first reached foreign audiences, citing French translations of Naguib Mahfouz’s works. He credited Arab intellectuals and diaspora members educated in the West, as well as Orientalist translators, with introducing Arabic works abroad.

Dr Darghmouni, a Moroccan professor of comparative literature who has translated Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry into Italian, said translation has helped challenge portrayals of Arab societies as exotic or fundamentally different from European ones. It has done so by showing “the diversity of Arab literature”, she said.

She added that literary prizes have brought Arab writers to wider audiences, but cautioned that publishing priorities, commercial expectations and translators’ own perceptions also shape which books are chosen.

Kurdish-Syrian novelist and critic Hussein said even well-translated Arabic works in English can struggle to gain recognition. Publishers and the literary community, he said, need to “invest in making these works visible”, through promotion, distribution and critical attention.

The 45th SIBF runs from November 4 to 15 at Expo Centre Sharjah under the theme ‘Made of Stories’, with the Sultanate of Oman as Guest of Honour. Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, the fair brings together 3,212 publishers and exhibitors from 126 countries, according to organisers. They say it offers more than 1.7 million titles and 1,500 cultural events, with 106 guests from 25 countries.