This Arab is Queer
An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers
Edited by Elias Jahshan
About the Book
This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer Arab writers – some internationally bestselling, others using pseudonyms. Here, we find heart-warming connections and moments of celebration alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab.
From a military base in the Gulf to loving whispers caught between the bedsheets; and from touring overseas as a drag queen to a concert in Cairo where the rainbow flag was raised to a crowd of thousands, this collection celebrates the true colours of a vibrant Arab queer experience.
Contributors:
Khalid Abdel-Hadi, Amna Ali, Madian Aljazeera, Mona Eltahawy, Raja Farah, Saleem Haddad, Zeyn Joukhadar, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Dima Mikhayel Matta, Hasan Namir, Danny Ramadan, Tania Safi, Omar Sakr, Anbara Salam, Hamed Sino and Ahmed Umar.
About the Contributors
Elias Jahshan (he/him) is a Palestinian-Lebanese journalist and writer. He is the editor of groundbreaking This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers (Saqi Books; 2022), which was a finalist in the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards in the USA, shortlisted for the 2023 Bread & Roses Award in the UK, and has been translated into Italian and French. His short memoirs ‘Coming Out Palestinian’ was anthologised in Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity (ed. Randa Abdel-Fattah & Sara Saleh; Picador, 2019), while 'Bittersweet Memories of a Palestinian Knight' was anthologised in Ask the Night for a Dream: Palestinian Writing From the Diaspora (ed. Susan Muaddi Darraj; Palestine Writes Press, 2024). Elias is also a former editor of Star Observer, Australia’s longest-running LGBTQ+ media outlet, and has been published in The Guardian, Gay Times, The New Arab, Raseef22, Shado Mag, My Kali, and more. Born and raised in Sydney, he now lives in London.
Reviews
‘A heartwarming, moving and uplifting anthology that celebrates the true colours of the vibrant Arab queer experience.’ Evening Standard
‘A wonderful collection of stories, of people unshackled, of tongues untied. This surprising book allows the deliberately silenced and the preferably unheard to speak. Profoundly moving and uplifting. Yes, This Arab is Queer.’ Rabih Alameddine
‘Visionary. A powerful and moving portrait of life as a queer Arab.’ Sabrina Mahfouz
'If Jahshan’s anthology succeeds at one thing in particular, it’s that it shines a light on parts of the Arab world and its diaspora we don’t hear as much from.' TIME Magazine
‘I’m not sure if there’s ever been an anthology like this before — and it’s about time. [These essays] paint a wonderfully complicated portrait of the diversity of LGBTQ+ Arab experiences.’ Book Riot
‘A vital addition to what it means to be Arab. This collection showcases the magnificent diversity and richness of Arab identity.’ Layla AlAmmar
‘A heartfelt, moving collection, unflinching in its vulnerability, courageous and empowering in its honesty. These writers hold our gaze, demanding to be seen, on their own terms.’ Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Awards
The Bread & Roses Award 2023 (Shortlisted) → Prize Website
35th Annual Lammy Award for LGBTQ+ Anthology (Shortlisted) → Prize Website
