Life rarely moves in straight lines. Perhaps that too belongs to the language of mirrors: the unexpected refraction that makes us pause and look again.
Some seasons force us to slow down and move more humanly through the world.
For that reason, we have not yet closed our call for submissions. It will remain open until May 15.
Thank you for your patience, and understanding, and for the remarkable work continuing to find its way to us.
→ Submit:
/submit/
→ Meet our Guest Editors & learn more:
/issue-14-mirrors/
#Rowayat #CallForSubmissions #Mirrors #SWANA #globalsouth
Photo courtesy of our featured Artist
Shirin Abedinirad from her Reflective Journey project:
/portfolio/reflective-journey/
Event Commagene Land and River Art Biennial
Medium Land Art
Location Kâhta, Adıyaman, Türkiye
Year September 2023
Eleven Nights, Eleven Poems
Tonight we share Day 5 of Mahmoud Darwish’s luminous sequence
أحد عشر كوكبًا على آخر المشهد الأندلسي.
In tonight’s recording, Nesma Gewily reads from the Arabic text — a passage that moves through exile, memory, and the long shadow of al-Andalus:
لم أكن نرجسًا، بيد أني
أدافع عن صورتي
في المرايا. أما كنت يومًا
هنا، يا غريب؟
خمسمائة عام مضى وانقضى، والقطيعة لم تكتمل…
Darwish returns us to the stranger’s question:
who belongs, who remembers, and how history continues to echo across centuries.
Tonight the question travels onward.
These recordings began in Cairo during the first eleven days of February, when a small circle gathered to read Darwish together across languages. Now, during the last eleven nights of Ramadan, we share them with you — one poem each evening.
One more star added to the constellation — Night 5 of 11.
🎧 Listen to all five recordings in Arabic and English:
/eleven-stars-over-andalusia/
🌙 Ramadan Kareem
#rowayat
#mahmouddarwish
#أحد_عشر_كوكبًا
#forgedkinship
#ramadanreadings
#arabicpoetry
#nesmagewily
#poetryasresistance
#poetrycommunity
#swanapoets
#swanapoetry
#globalsouthpoets
#alandalus
Tonight we begin sharing something very close to our hearts.
During the first eleven days of February, a small circle gathered in Cairo to record Mahmoud Darwish’s أحد عشر كوكبًا على آخر المشهد الأندلسي.
Now, during the last eleven nights of Ramadan, we share these recordings with you.
One poem each evening.
A constellation unfolding across the nights.
🌙 Ramadan Kareem
Listen to the complete recording of Day 1 in English and Arabic here:
/eleven-stars-over-andalusia/
#Rowayat #rowayat #MahmoudDarwish #forgedkinship #ramadanreadings #arabicpoetry
#rahatkurd
#translation
#poetrytranslation
#poetryasresistance
#poetrycommunity
#swanapoets
#swanapoetry
#globalsouthpoets
#palestine
#kashmir
🔦 خمس دقايق، وكشاف نور، وحدوتة بتتحكي في الظلام.
ما الذي يصنع حكايات الأشباح؟ إيه الحقيقي، وإيه المُستحضَر، وإيه الألغاز اللي بتفضل عالقة بين الاتنين؟ انضموا لنا في الفاكتوري يوم ٢٠ مايو الساعة ٩:٣٠ مساءً في «اطفي النور.. واكشف المستور»، تجمع ليلي بيشمل قراءات منتقاة – وفقرة مفتوحة لأي حد عنده قلب يدخل الدايرة.
بمشاركة:
– بسمة الخولي | «ما يخبّئه الليل»
– فاطمة القلعي | «ما نراه ولا وجود له»
– نور كامل | «انطباع»
– آلاء البنان | مقتطف من «النداهة» من «ما وراء الطبيعة» لأحمد خالد توفيق
يُقام البرنامج بالتعاون مع الدورية الأدبية «روايات»، وهنختتم القراءة الممتدة لساعة بجلسة استماع جماعية مدتها ٢٠ دقيقة: تليفونات صامتة وأصوات هادية، حيث يسلط الانتباه على ما يتردد بعد السطر الأخير.
مهرجان منصات للأفلام مقدم من مؤسسة مصر دوت بكرة لتنمية المهارات، وتُقام دورته العاشرة من ٢٠ إلى ٢٣ مايو ٢٠٢٦ بوسط القاهرة.
رسوم: مو فرماوي
🔦 Five minutes. A flashlight. And a story told in the dark.
What makes a ghost story — what’s true, what’s conjured, and what mysteries linger in between? Join us in The Factory on May 20 at 9:30 pm for ‘Tell me... a ghost story,’ a late-night gathering with curated readings — and an open-mic twist for anyone spirited enough to step in.
Featuring:
– Basma Elkholy | ‘What the Night Keeps’
– Fatima ElKalay | ‘Terrible Pareidolia’
– Nour Kamel | ‘Imprint’
– Alaa Al-Bannan | an excerpt from “El Nadaha” from ‘Paranormal’ by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik
Presented in collaboration with the literary journal “Rowayat,” the one-hour reading will end with a 20-minute collective listening session: phones away, voices down, and attention turned to what echoes after the last line.
Brought to you by MasrdotBokra for Skills Development, the 10th edition of Manassat Film Festival takes place from May 20 to 23, 2026 in Downtown Cairo.
Illustration by Mo Faramawy
✍️ تذوقوا الشعر ربما بشكل مختلف المرة دي..
في ورشة «في الطريق إلى الشعر»، تدعوكم الشاعرة والكاتبة رنا التونسي لتناول الشعر باعتباره مساحة مشتركة للاستكشاف والتجريب والتعبير، واكتشاف طرق جديدة للكتابة والإحساس والرؤية.
بترحب الورشة بالشعراء والكتاب والفنانين وأي حد مهتم باللغة والصور والمعاني – حتى لو بيتعرض للشعر لأول مرة.
من خلال القراءات الجماعية والحوارات المفتوحة والتأمل في النصوص والصور والأفكار، هتتحول الورشة لمساحة مفتوحة يستحضر فيها المشاركون والمشاركات تجاربهم الشخصية وأحساسيهم الخاصة في تفاعل مشترك.
مجانًا • يشترط التسجيل • من ١٠ إلى ١٥ مشارك/ة
بالتعاون مع الدورية الأدبية «روايات»، تُقام الورشة يوم ٢١ مايو من الساعة ١١ صباحًا إلى الساعة ٢ ظهرًا في مركز دوار للفنون. تنشر أعمال مختارة من الورشة على موقع منصات وصفحاته على شبكات التواصل الاجتماعي خلال فصل الصيف بشكل تدريجي. لمعلومات أكتر والتسجيل في الورشة، زوروا موقعنا (اللينك في البايو).
مهرجان منصات للأفلام مقدم من مؤسسة مصر دوت بكرة لتنمية المهارات، وتُقام دورته العاشرة من ٢٠ إلى ٢٣ مايو ٢٠٢٦ في سينما زاوية بوسط القاهرة.
✍️ Navigate through poetry — perhaps differently this time.
In “Ebb & Flow,” writer and poet Rana Al-Tonsi invites participants to approach poetry as a shared space for exploration, expression, and discovering new ways of writing, feeling, and seeing.
The workshop welcomes poets, writers, artists, and anyone curious about language, imagery, and meaning — even those approaching poetry for the very first time.
Through collective readings, open conversations, and reflections on texts, images, and ideas, the workshop becomes an interactive space where each participant brings their own experiences and sensitivities into the shared process.
Free-of-charge • Registration required • 10–15 participants
Held in partnership with the literary journal “Rowayat” on May 21 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at Dawar Arts. Selected poems will be gradually published throughout the summer on Manassat’s website and festival platforms. Learn more and register for the workshop via our website (link in bio).
Brought to you by MasrdotBokra for Skills Development, the 10th edition of Manassat Film Festival takes place from May 20 to 23, 2026 in Downtown Cairo.
📚 السنة دي، بتسلّط دورتنا العاشرة الضوء على التدوين — على الأصوات والحكايات اللي بتنتقل من الورق للشاشة.
في تعاون جديد مع الدورية الأدبية «روايات»، هنبدأ كل منصة عرض بقراءة مختارة تُقدَّم مباشرةً أمام الجمهور عشان تخلق لحظة انتقالية نفتح من خلالها حوار بين السينما والكتابة.
تنطلق القراءات من نصوص مختارة لكُتّاب وكاتبات من أجيال وتجارب مختلفة لتتراوح بين الشعر والمذكرات والأعمال الروائية والسرد الشخصي.
*المختارات*
منصة رقم ١ | مي سرحان — «أستطيع أن أتخيل ذلك لنا: مذكّرات ابنة فلسطينية»
منصة رقم ٢ | سارة الكامل ورنا التونسي — «كتاب الألعاب»
منصة رقم ٣ | ناصر أبو سرور — «سيكولوچيا المكان والانتقال القسري»
منصة رقم ٤ | ماجدة حسب النبي — «كحل وحبهان»
منصة رقم ٥ | فاطمة القلعي ومنصورة عز الدين — «جدة بعيدة تبكي في الظلام»
منصة رقم ٦ | محسن محمد — «ما فيش رقم بيرد» (قراءة مسجلة)
بين القراءة والمشاهدة.. نتلوا بعض الحكايات قبل أن تُضاء الشاشة.
مهرجان منصات للأفلام مقدم من مؤسسة مصر دوت بكرة لتنمية المهارات، وتُقام دورته العاشرة من ٢٠ إلى ٢٣ مايو ٢٠٢٦ في وسط القاهرة.
📚 This year, our 10th edition shines a spotlight on journaling — on voices and stories moving between page and screen.
In a new collaboration with the literary journal “Rowayat,” every Manassa screening begins with a selected live reading, creating a transitional moment and conversation, between cinema and writing.
Drawn from works by writers across different generations and experiences, the readings move between poetry, memoir, fiction, and personal narrative.
Selection:
– Manassa No. 1 | Mai Serhan — “I Can Imagine It for Us: A Palestinian Daughter’s Memoir”
– Manassa No. 2 | Sara Elkamel & Rana Al-Tonsi — “The Book of Games”
– Manassa No. 3 | Nasser Abu Srour — “The Psychology of Place and Forced Movement”
– Manassa No. 4 | Magda Hassab ElNabi — “Kohl and Cardamom”
– Manassa No. 5 | Fatima ElKalay & Mansoura Ezz El Din — “A Distant Grandmother Weeps in the Dark”
– Manassa No. 6 | Mohsen Mohamed — “No One Is On the Line” (pre-recorded)
Between a reading and a screening, some stories begin before the screen lights up.
Brought to you by MasrdotBokra for Skills Development, the 10th edition of Manassat Film Festival takes place from May 20 to 23, 2026 in Downtown Cairo.
“I am a mirror set before your eyes, And all who come before my splendour see Themselves, their own unique reality; You came as thirty birds and therefore saw These selfsame thirty birds, not less nor more; If you had come as forty, fifty – here An answering forty, fifty would appear; Though you have struggled, wandered, travelled far, It is yourselves you see and what you are.” — The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar (12th century Persia)
Rowayat invites submissions for Issue 14, centred on the theme of ‘Mirrors.’
A mirror reflects, but it can also distort.
Before a mirror, the self is doubled, fractured, or returned as an illusory stranger.
We are interested in work that explores mirrors in their many forms: - mirrors as reflections of memory and the past - mirrors as surveillance - mirrors as portals between selves languages, histories, and geographies - mirrors as sites of mystical recognition - mirrors that clarify, mirrors that deceive - mirrors as silent depictions of false facts.
For this issue, we welcome writing that engages with reflection in all its forms: self-recognition and misrecognition, doubling and disappearance, mirroring across generations, borders, and time.
We invite poetry, fiction, hybrid work, translation, CNF, and comics that respond imaginatively to the mirror as metaphor, form, or encounter. Send us your best work.
In these fractured times of doublespeak, when realities are increasingly mirrored back to us refracted, we await your reflections.
→ Meet our Guest Editors & Submit:
/issue-14-mirrors/
/submit/
#Rowayat #CallForSubmissions #Mirrors #SWANA #GlobalSouth #Translation #Poetry #CNF #Fiction #LiteraryCommunity #WhereStoriesBecomeSolidarity #shirinabedinirad #reflectivejourney
Photo courtesy of our featured Artist Shirin Abedinirad from her Reflective Journey project:
/portfolio/reflective-journey/
Event Commagene Land and River Art Biennial
Medium Land Art
Location Kâhta, Adıyaman, Türkiye
Year September 2023
Day 3 — March 10-20th day of Ramadan-
Eleven Nights, Eleven Poems
To listen to all the readings in English & Arabic:
/eleven-stars-over-andalusia/
Rowayat is sharing Day 3 of our Ramadan readings of Mahmoud Darwish’s luminous sequence
أحد عشر كوكبًا على آخر المشهد الأندلسي.
Rahat Kurd’s recording of the third poem “There is a sky beyond the sky for me” from Agha Shahid Ali’s English translation in “Rooms Are Never Finished”:
“There is a sky beyond the sky for me
There is a sky beyond the sky for my return…
…I’ll emerge, with wings, from the banner I am,
bird that never alights on trees in the garden—
I will shed my skin and my language.”
A poem that moves through exile and return, through the fragile claim to belonging — where even the sky is doubled, and the poet imagines emergence: wings, language shed, the self remade.
These recordings began in Cairo during the first eleven days of February, when we gathered to read Darwish across languages.
Now, during the last eleven nights of Ramadan, we share them with you — one poem each evening.
One more star added to the constellation — Night 3 of 11.
🌙 Ramadan Kareem
#rowayat
#mahmouddarwish
#forgedkinship
#ramadanreadings
#arabicpoetry
#rahatkurd
#translation
#poetrytranslation
#poetryasresistance
#poetrycommunity
#swanapoets
#swanapoetry
#globalsouthpoets
#palestine
#kashmir
Thank you, @rowayategypt , for putting together such a wonderful book discussion at Diwan Bookstore in Egypt, and a huge thank you to @cairenegirl for the thoughtful, engaging conversation. It was a real privilege to share the ideas behind Then He Sent Prophets with such a great audience.
Deeply grateful to everyone who came. It was an honor and a pleasure.
THE BOOK OF Z
From Herat to Cairo: Zulaykha, myth, and the language of longing
We are honoured to welcome Rahat Kurd to Cairo for the first time for an evening of conversation and book signing celebrating her poetry collection, The Book of Z.
📍 Diwan Zamalek 🗓 Wednesday, February 11 ⏰ 7:00 PM ✍️ Book signing to follow
The Book of Z reconsiders mystical possibilities—above all, longing for divine union—found within scriptural language. For over a thousand years, the story of Zulaykha—“the wife of Aziz” in the Qur’an—and her passion for Yusuf has lived across Persian and Urdu poetry, Muslim folk traditions, and miniature painting. At the same time, as the Biblical “wife of Potiphar,” Zulaykha has been cast as a temptress in misogynistic Western narratives.
Writing in the vividly imagined voice of Zulaykha herself, Rahat Kurd reclaims this figure from estranged and moralizing retellings. Her Zulaykha speaks desire, faith, solitude, and survival—asking what consolation human longing and divine yearning might offer our fractured present.
🗣 Rahat Kurd is a Vancouver-based writer and editor whose work draws on multilingual poetics, particularly the Urdu and Persian ghazal traditions. She is the author of Cosmophilia (Talonbooks, 2015) and co-author of The City That Is Leaving Forever: Kashmiri Letters (Talonbooks, 2021). Her work has appeared widely in poetry, translation, and literary essays.
🗣 In conversation with Fatima ElKalay, poet, translator, and Managing Editor of Rowayat Issue 13. A core member of Rowayat’s editorial family for over a decade, Fatima has shaped its poetic and translational vision across multiple issues. She holds an MLitt in Creative Writing and has been shortlisted for the London Independent Story Prize and the ArabLit Story Prize. Her recent translations include Mansoura Ez-Eldin’s Shadow Spectres (The Markaz Review).
Presented by the Rowayat Editorial Family in collaboration with Diwan Bookstore.
#TheBookofZ #RahatKurd #Zulaykha #PoetryAndMyth #Rowayat #DiwanZamalek #CairoLiteraryEvents
WHEN KINGDOMS FALL, CONSCIENCES RISE
Rowayat, in collaboration with Diwan Bookstore, is pleased to present a literary conversation on history, faith, and moral responsibility through “Then He Sent Prophets,” the acclaimed novel by Mohamed Seif El Nasr.
🗣 Mohamed Seif El Nasr in conversation with Sherine Elbanhawy
📍 Diwan Cinema Radio
🗓 Wednesday, February 4
⏰ 7:00 PM
The discussion will explore how literature engages questions of power, ethical compromise, and belief during moments of societal collapse—and why these questions remain urgent today.
We look forward to welcoming members of the literary and cultural community.
⸻
Mohamed Seif El Nasr is Rowayat’s Issue 13 Fiction Editor.
He is a writer and editor from Cairo, Egypt, with an academic background in history and political science. After over a decade in corporate banking, he changed paths to pursue a career in writing. His work includes historical and political essays for publications such as Mada Masr, Mondoweiss, and Truthout.
“Then He Sent Prophets,” his debut historical novel, was published by Daraja Press in 2024 and is forthcoming in Arabic from the Arab Cultural Center in 2027. It has been praised in ArabLit, The New Arab, Middle East Monitor, Rowayat, and The Historical Novels Review.
🔗
📸 Instagram: @moseifelnasr
⸻
Sherine Elbanhawy is a writer, editor, translator, and academic based in Montreal, Tiohtià:ke, on the unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation. Her work focuses on Arab feminist literature and collective storytelling. She is the founding editor of Rowayat, an independent literary magazine and publisher, and her translation of Mohsen Mohamed’s poetry was a finalist for the 2024 Eric Hoffer Awards.
#rowayat #diwanbookstores #literaryconversations #literaryevents #readingasresistance #mohamedseifelnasr #darajapress #Granada1359 #historicalfiction
In a bit of a shift in style to my usual work, I wrote a personal essay about Beirut based on poems, conversations, observations, and reflections in Lebanon over recent months, particularly during prolonged storms in November, when the sky was lit with fire and thunder.
Eternally grateful to my friend and the brilliant writer @mai_serhan for editing and caring about this piece as if it was her own. And thank you to @rowayategypt for giving it a home.
If you only read one thing, make it the last slide I've shared (with writing). Full story available in bio. Photos/videos taken by me over recent months in Beirut 🇱🇧
