Shortlisted for the Man Booker Award in 2016, Lebanese author Hoda Barakat (b. 1952) is one of the most important Arab authors writing today. She is the author of almost a dozen novels, plays, and essay collections including Stone of Laughter (1990), Disciples of Passion (1993), and most recently The Night Post (2017). Barakat’s writing has been praised for its bold exploration of ethical, social, and psychological collapse exposed in times of war. Published in over 14 languages, Barakat’s work earned her great critical acclaim and many honors and awards. She is the recipient of the Ordre du Mérite from the French Presidence, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture, and the Amalfi Prize for Mediterranean Literature. She was a fellow at the Wissenshaft College (Wiko) in Berlin (2008) and at the Institute for Advanced Study at Central European University in Budapest (2017), and a visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin (2013) and the University of Virginia (2014).
Tarek El-Ariss is Associate Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth College. He is the author of Trials of Arab Modernity: Literary Affects and the New Political (2013) and Leaks, Hacks, and Scandals: Arab Culture in the Digital Age (2018), and editor of The Arab Renaissance: A Bilingual Anthology of the Nahda (2018).