Have you read these pieces from The Markaz Review's Kurdish Issue, HAWAR? We're looking forward to featuring work by Zeynep Esmeray and Hoshang Waziri (translated by Hassan Abdulrazzak) in Henar Press's forthcoming anthology of contemporary plays, Who's Afraid of Kurdistan?

Our inaugural publication, GABOR, will be releasing in less than 2 weeks, on August 25th! It's available for pre-order now. Pre-orders immensely help publishers reach more readers, gauge print runs, expand distribution, and much more. Learn more and pre-order here: asterismbooks.com/product/gabor

Have you signed up for the Henar Press newsletter? You can find the newsletter sign up at the bottom of our website: henarpress.org P.S. If you've already signed up, we recommend that you do it again since we recently revamped our website (and unfortunately lost our old list in the process).

Henar Press is collaborating with The Markaz Review (@markaz-review.bsky.social) on their upcoming Kurdish Issue, and we want to hear from you! Submissions are welcome on their website by June 1: themarkaz.org/submissions/

We're excited to share that Firat Cewerî's novel I Am Going to Kill Somebody, translated from Kurdish by Jeannette Okur, will be releasing November 3rd and is now available for pre-order! Learn more and pre-order here: asterismbooks.com/product/i-am... (link in bio!)

So fortunate to have been invited by the Harvard Kurdish Cultural Association alongside Holly Mason Badra to speak on Kurdish literature, Sleeping in the Courtyard, our forthcoming publications and projects, the database, translation, publishing, and more!

We're excited to share that Seyed Qader Hedayati's novel GABOR, translated from Kurdish by Chiya Parvizpur and Hourieh Maleki Qouzloo, will be releasing August 25th and is now available for pre-order! Learn more and pre-order here: asterismbooks.com/product/gabor (link in bio!)

If you're a Kurmancî to English translator, get in touch with us! We're working on our first issue for a soon to be announced project (potentially the first time a Kurdish literary magazine will be translated into English).

Doing my part to amplify the emergency call to action to protect the people of Rojava. If you're in the US, please contact your respective senators and representative as soon as possible using this call script: www.defendrojava.org/news/tell-congress-stop-the-war-on-syrian-kurds

Tell Congress: Stop The War on Syrian Kurds! — Emergency Committee for Rojava

Call on members of US Congress to take immediate action to stop the Syrian state’s war on Kurds! If you are not sure what to say, you can simply follow our script below. You can look up your Senator...

defendrojava.org

I AM GOING TO KILL SOMEBODY by Firat Cewerî, tr. by Jeannette Okur FALL 2026

We're delighted that Kurdish literature is gaining traction in the West, so much so that we now have @henarpress.bsky.social! Here's a great @arablit.bsky.social interview with their publisher, Aryan: arablit.org/2025/09/11/a...

A New Look at Kurdish Literature, Beyond the ‘Selfless, Helpless’ Trope

Next year, Henar Press will bring out its first two titles, translated from Kurdish to English. But already, their website — with its Kurdish Literary Database — is contributing to a wi…

arablit.org

If you're a Kurdish writer, or translating a work from a Kurdish writer from any language to English:

Henar Press@henarpress.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We want YOUR manuscripts!! 📢 If you're a writer or translator, we want to hear from you! We're currently reviewing book-length prose and poetry submissions. We're interested in pretty much everything. The weirder it is, the more likely we are to publish it!

We want YOUR manuscripts!! 📢 If you're a writer or translator, we want to hear from you! We're currently reviewing book-length prose and poetry submissions. We're interested in pretty much everything. The weirder it is, the more likely we are to publish it!

What a literary treat to see the latest mini issue of the Markaz Review with a focus on Kurdish literature - I may be biased as I consider Aryan Omar Hassan (of @henarpress.bsky.social) a friend, but his review of the novel “Hyper” by @agri.bsky.social is hilarious. themarkaz.org/agri-ismails...

Agri Ismaïl's Hyper is a 21st Century Kurdish Crucible

Kurdish writer Agri Ismaïl’s debut novel is nothing short of a literary miracle, suggests reviewer Aryan Omar Hassan.

themarkaz.org

Still can't believe RAWIfest2025 is over. It was my first but it definitely won't be my last. This has easily been my favorite festival experience by far. Met so many incredible people.

I’ve read “Tale of a Wall”… his certainty that he would be in prison forever - I can’t imagine how this must feel…

ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly@arablit.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Two Prize-winning Palestinian Authors Freed from Israeli Prisons Two award-winning Palestinian authors serving life sentences in Israeli prisons were released on October 13 as part of the exchange for Israeli captives held in Gaza.

COVER REVEAL — Our fabled first anthology is (almost) here! WHO'S AFRAID OF KURDISTAN? may be the first collection of Kurdish plays to be published in English. If you're a playwright, we want to hear from you! Please submit your work through the submission form on our website (henarpress.org).

This is well worth your time and money ⬇️

Henar Press@henarpress.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We're launching our first ever fundraiser! We have many amazing projects planned, and your support, no matter the amount, would ensure we can fully realize our vision of providing Kurdish literature with the platform it deserves. Visit our fundraiser page: secure.givelively.org/donate/henar...

Raven Baxter told me Yan Lianke will win the Nobel

We're launching our first ever fundraiser! We have many amazing projects planned, and your support, no matter the amount, would ensure we can fully realize our vision of providing Kurdish literature with the platform it deserves. Visit our fundraiser page: secure.givelively.org/donate/henar...

🚨Available for purchase in a risograph printed zine or as a PDF, from Maamoul Press, all proceeds will support Jehad and Esraa. maamoulpress.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?... + Watch a video of the making of the zine: maamoulpress.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?...

COVER REVEAL — We're proud to present I AM GOING TO KILL SOMEBODY, the English debut of Firat Cewerî, one of the great modern existentialists, brilliantly translated by Jeannette Okur and with a foreword by Agri Ismaïl.

We're live at the Kurdish Studies Forum at the American University of Iraq Sulaimani! Huge thanks to Nawa for setting up our booth and getting everything prepared leading up to the event! This wouldn't have been possible without all her hard work 👏👏👏

Excited to share that Henar Press will have a booth at the Kurdish Studies Forum at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani from September 25-27th! If you're planning on attending (which you absolutely should), then please stop by and say hi.

COVER REVEAL — We're excited to announce Henar Press's inaugural publication, GĀBOR. This marks the English debut of Seyed Qader Hedayati, superbly translated from the Kurdish by Chiya Parvizpur and Hourieh Maleki Qouzloo.

🗓️[UPCOMING EVENT] Join us on Sept. 28 at 1pm EST for #TMRBookClub! We’ll discuss “Sand-Catcher,” (@coffeehousepress.bsky.social) a moving fable of Palestinian memory. Author Omar Khalifah and translator Barbara Romaine join us. Hosted by @bookfabulous.bsky.social 🔗 us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Happy to Celebrate Arthur Sze as our New Poet Laureate of the U.S.!

Take action for bibliodiversity. mailchi.mp/bab48bdc94e6...

The wonderful folks at @arablit.bsky.social just posted an interview about Henar Press, the database, my reasoning for starting the press, and so much more. I feel incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity to amplify Kurdish literature and get people excited about our upcoming releases.

This database cool is seriously the coolest thing. When I read “every fire you tend” and “the last pomegranate tree” I thought — I’d really like to learn more about Kurdish literature — and now!!

ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly@arablit.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Also particularly excited to spread the word about a new Kurdish publishing house, Henar Press, henarpress.org, which also has this Kurdish Literary Database (henarpress.org/database) of Kurdish works in English translated from Sorani Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, Kurmanji, German, Farsi, & more.