Osama Hammad
@osamahammad.bsky.social
I translate between Arabic and English.
Reposted by Osama Hammad
Dive into this interview with the author and translator of our December Book Club pick— Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer.
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
Cairo Without Euphemism: An Interview with Belal Fadl and Osama Hammad - Asymptote Blog
Don’t even think about taboos, or moral values. If you do . . . you’ll stop focusing on the act of storytelling.
tinyurl.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Dive into this interview with the author and translator of our December Book Club pick— Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer.
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
January 30, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Osama Hammad
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Marianne Dhenin
Journalist, historian, writer.
newsletter.mariannedhenin.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:12 PM
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Dive into this interview with the author and translator of our December Book Club pick— Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer.
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
Cairo Without Euphemism: An Interview with Belal Fadl and Osama Hammad - Asymptote Blog
Don’t even think about taboos, or moral values. If you do . . . you’ll stop focusing on the act of storytelling.
tinyurl.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Dive into this interview with the author and translator of our December Book Club pick— Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer.
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
We speak about authorial honesty, the book’s reputation, and facing reality in fiction: tinyurl.com/378vvfzk
Thank you @tmende.bsky.social! Really glad you liked it.
Translated by the amazing @osamahammad.bsky.social and published by Dar Arab
January 14, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Thank you @tmende.bsky.social! Really glad you liked it.
Reposted by Osama Hammad
Reminder that I'm a freelance reporter, contributor @truthout.org, and I run a newsletter covering politics and organizing. Please reach out with tips re: attacks on public education, divestment campaigns, local regulation of data centers, and all things disability. Contact in bio. RTs appreciated.
January 13, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Reminder that I'm a freelance reporter, contributor @truthout.org, and I run a newsletter covering politics and organizing. Please reach out with tips re: attacks on public education, divestment campaigns, local regulation of data centers, and all things disability. Contact in bio. RTs appreciated.
...will give you strength to fight the devil if he tries to seduce you or drag you to the road of filth.” The devil and I listened calmly to my mother, barely holding back our laughter out of respect for her feelings. We already had plans for what we were going to do on the ‘road of filth’ #um_Mimi
The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer
A cult-classic translated Arabic novel from Egypt. Belal Fadl’s darkly comic coming-of-age story captures Cairo's gritty 1990s with sharp wit and tenderness.
dararab.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM
...will give you strength to fight the devil if he tries to seduce you or drag you to the road of filth.” The devil and I listened calmly to my mother, barely holding back our laughter out of respect for her feelings. We already had plans for what we were going to do on the ‘road of filth’ #um_Mimi
The novel’s humor—often obscene, often cruel—does not simply entertain; it sharpens the immediacy of the scenes described. Laughter, therefore, functions as both a shield and a weapon. It subverts the power dynamics at play...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
Announcing Our December Book Club Selection: The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer by Belal Fadl - Asymptote Blog
Here, language tells the truth without mitigation, even when that truth is ugly.
www.asymptotejournal.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:10 AM
The novel’s humor—often obscene, often cruel—does not simply entertain; it sharpens the immediacy of the scenes described. Laughter, therefore, functions as both a shield and a weapon. It subverts the power dynamics at play...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
A beautifully written review by Ibrahim Fawzy
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
Announcing Our December Book Club Selection: The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer by Belal Fadl - Asymptote Blog
Here, language tells the truth without mitigation, even when that truth is ugly.
www.asymptotejournal.com
January 1, 2026 at 12:17 PM
A beautifully written review by Ibrahim Fawzy
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2025/12...
Reposted by Osama Hammad
A wonderful surprise to be on the shortlist for the Bait AlGhasham DarArab international translation prize this round. An even sweeter honor because I share it with my friend Osama Hammad (@osamahammad.bsky.social), who also has a book out this month! I'll link that text downthread.
Shortlist Announced for Bait AlGhasham DarArab International Translation Prize
Today, the Bait AlGhasham DarArab International Translation Prize announced its 2026 shortlists in three categories: Translators, Authors, and Omani Publications.
arablit.org
December 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A wonderful surprise to be on the shortlist for the Bait AlGhasham DarArab international translation prize this round. An even sweeter honor because I share it with my friend Osama Hammad (@osamahammad.bsky.social), who also has a book out this month! I'll link that text downthread.
My debut translation of Belal Fadl's debut novel, The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer, AKA UM MIMI
dararab.co.uk/en/product/t...
dararab.co.uk/en/product/t...
The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer
A cult-classic translated Arabic novel from Egypt. Belal Fadl’s darkly comic coming-of-age story captures Cairo's gritty 1990s with sharp wit and tenderness.
dararab.co.uk
December 17, 2025 at 8:58 PM
My debut translation of Belal Fadl's debut novel, The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer, AKA UM MIMI
dararab.co.uk/en/product/t...
dararab.co.uk/en/product/t...
Reposted by Osama Hammad
My contributions for Arabic Literature: In Translation in 2025. I’m grateful to all those I had the chance to talk with about their work. It means more than you know to me. See you hopefully next year in 2026 ❤️ Thank you as always @Marcia Lynx Qualey and @arablit.bsky.social Part 2
December 11, 2025 at 5:05 PM
My contributions for Arabic Literature: In Translation in 2025. I’m grateful to all those I had the chance to talk with about their work. It means more than you know to me. See you hopefully next year in 2026 ❤️ Thank you as always @Marcia Lynx Qualey and @arablit.bsky.social Part 2
Reposted by Osama Hammad
In Translation: Blurring the Line Between the Real and the Ludicrous
This December 15, Dar Arab is set to publish Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Shari The Adulterer, brought to English by first-time translator Osama Hammad. This darkly humorous coming-of-age is set in a…
This December 15, Dar Arab is set to publish Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Shari The Adulterer, brought to English by first-time translator Osama Hammad. This darkly humorous coming-of-age is set in a…
In Translation: Blurring the Line Between the Real and the Ludicrous
This December 15, Dar Arab is set to publish Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Shari The Adulterer, brought to English by first-time translator Osama Hammad. This darkly humorous coming-of-age is set in a grittily, over-the-top, darkly funny 1990s Cairo. It was originally published in Arabic in 2021 and longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2022. Here, Hammad talks about how he came to translate this novel, the challenges of translating humor, and what makes this novel so special.
arablit.org
December 8, 2025 at 5:21 AM
In Translation: Blurring the Line Between the Real and the Ludicrous
This December 15, Dar Arab is set to publish Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Shari The Adulterer, brought to English by first-time translator Osama Hammad. This darkly humorous coming-of-age is set in a…
This December 15, Dar Arab is set to publish Belal Fadl’s The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Shari The Adulterer, brought to English by first-time translator Osama Hammad. This darkly humorous coming-of-age is set in a…
Reposted by Osama Hammad
Instead of kings, plutocrats, and generals, a new kind of historical walking tour focuses on the people they repressed, and tells a more complete story. This is one of the more uplifting pieces tucked away in my archive.
Walking Tours Get a Radical Makeover, Focusing on People’s Histories
Instead of kings, plutocrats, and generals, a new kind of historical walking tour focuses on the people they repressed, and tells a more complete story.
newsletter.mariannedhenin.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Instead of kings, plutocrats, and generals, a new kind of historical walking tour focuses on the people they repressed, and tells a more complete story. This is one of the more uplifting pieces tucked away in my archive.
Reposted by Osama Hammad
Forthcoming December 2025: Satire and Contemporary Arab Theater in Translation
As publication dates often slip — and new books surface — we try to have a glance at what’s really (to the best of our knowledge) coming in translation from Arabic at the start of each month.
As publication dates often slip — and new books surface — we try to have a glance at what’s really (to the best of our knowledge) coming in translation from Arabic at the start of each month.
Forthcoming December 2025: Satire and Contemporary Arab Theater in Translation
As publication dates often slip — and new books surface — we try to have a glance at what’s really (to the best of our knowledge) coming in translation from Arabic at the start of each month.
arablit.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Forthcoming December 2025: Satire and Contemporary Arab Theater in Translation
As publication dates often slip — and new books surface — we try to have a glance at what’s really (to the best of our knowledge) coming in translation from Arabic at the start of each month.
As publication dates often slip — and new books surface — we try to have a glance at what’s really (to the best of our knowledge) coming in translation from Arabic at the start of each month.
Reposted by Osama Hammad
Love this beautiful essay. Thanks so much to Osama Hammad for translating it.
Tracing a Line, from Arwa to Enayat
"Every time Arwa and Enayat stepped from the private to the public, they returned disappointed. I should clarify that I am not offering an idealistic theory that assumes the world should reward people for their intentions and desires. However, I imagine that…
"Every time Arwa and Enayat stepped from the private to the public, they returned disappointed. I should clarify that I am not offering an idealistic theory that assumes the world should reward people for their intentions and desires. However, I imagine that…
Tracing a Line, from Arwa to Enayat
"Every time Arwa and Enayat stepped from the private to the public, they returned disappointed. I should clarify that I am not offering an idealistic theory that assumes the world should reward people for their intentions and desires. However, I imagine that their experiences could have been less cruel in other societies that don't seal the public sphere up so tightly."
arablit.org
November 18, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Love this beautiful essay. Thanks so much to Osama Hammad for translating it.