Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press) is excited to launch a long list of books spanning across all genres at this year’s 2018 Doha International Book Fair. From children’s books to fiction and non-fiction, the number of titles published by HBKU Press is on the rise.

Over the past year, the world-class publishing house was able to purchase the rights to publish the translations of several high-profile award-winning novels, in addition to several original Arabic language works of note.

2017 Nobel Laureate: Kazuo Ishiguro

HBKU Press acquired the rights to translate all eight books of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Kazuo Ishiguro into Arabic. The agreement was signed after Ishiguro was named winner of the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature.

In addition to the Arabic version of An Artist of the Floating World,  HBKU Press will also launch the translations of The Remains Of The Day (1989, winner of the Booker Prize), When We Were Orphans (2000, shortlisted for the Booker Prize), The Buried Giant (2015, UK Bestseller), and a book of stories, Nocturnes (2009). The translations of A Pale View of Hills (1982, Winifred Holtby Prize), The Unconsoled (1995, winner of the Cheltenham Prize), and Never Let Me Go (2005, shortlisted for the MAN Booker Prize) will be available in early 2019.

Award-Winning Fiction and Non-Fiction Books

This year was all about bringing the works of notable internationally-recognised authors to local Arabic readers in Qatar. Among those are the works of first-time author Emily Fridlund, whose novel History of Wolves was nominated for the 2017 MAN Booker prize. The ‘coming-of-age’ novel follows the life of a 14-year-old girl living in the remnants of a commune in the Minnesota woods, who struggles to navigate the hardships of adolescence. The book made waves on the literary scene and is sure to be a hit in Arabic.

Renowned translator Saleh Almani has once again worked his magic on renowned Mexican author Jorge Ibarguengoitia’s dark tale, Las Muertas, detailing the decade-long career of two serial killers, sisters Delfina and María de Jesús González from Guanajuato, Mexico.

For fans of the 2017 International Book Award winner Bitter Almonds, English-language readers can delight in Lilas Taha’s second published novel with HBKU Press, Lost in Thyme.  

For non-fiction readers, Birth of a Dream Weaver charts the very beginnings of a writer’s creative output in the wonderful memoir of award-winning Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o. The book recounts the four years he spent in Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda where he found his voice as a playwright, journalist and novelist, at a time when countries like Uganda, Kenya and Congo, were in the final throes of their independence struggles.

From the World of Academics

The Arab world is also explored in the various original language studies published by HBKU Press.

DIBF 2017

In The Architecture of Dead Cities (Amaaret Al Modon Al Maitah), author Nasser Al Rabat takes readers on a journey back in time to the ‘dead cities’ of the historical land of Syria.

Dr Mohammed Abdullah Al Zareer’s study, Historians and Historical Writing in the Arabian Peninsula (Al Muarrikhun Wal Kitaba Attarikhiya Fi Al-Jazeera Al Arabiyah) takes an in-depth look at the role played by historians in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A biography Ajwad bin Zamil, the Sultan of Jabriyah, written by Dr Ali Al Hajiri, explores the life of the most famous sultan of the region, whose rule represented a period of prosperity. This stage is an important part of the political history of the al Qa’ida al Qa’bariya.

Two books that explore Turkish politics, The Experience of the Justice and Development Party in Governance (Tajrbit Hezb Al ‘edat w Al tanmiyt fi Al hikim) and The Presidential System and Political Reform in Turkey (Al nizam Al ra’ysi  w Al tahawul Al siyasi fi Turkiah), are also published by HBKU Press.

These books and many more will be launched at the Doha International Book Fair (DIBF 2018) which will be held from 29 November to 8 December at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Follow HBKU Press on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@hbkupress) for daily updates from the fair.