Selma Dabbagh – We Wrote in Symbols: Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers

Lichfield Literature Festival 2023

It is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. Behind that secret lies another – that many of the writers are women. We Wrote in Symbols celebrates the works of 75 of these female writers of Arab heritage who articulate love and lust with artistry and skill. From a wedding night that takes an unexpected turn beneath a canopy of stars and a carnal awakening occurs in a Palestinian refugee camp to a masked rendezvous in a circus, there is no such thing as a typical sexual encounter, as this electrifying anthology shows. 

Selma Dabbagh is a British Palestinian writer of fiction whose debut novel Out of It (Bloomsbury) was a Guardian Book of the Year. Dabbagh’s BBC R4 play The Brick was nominated for the Imison Award, and her writing has been published in Granta and Wasafiri, and translated into several languages.

LFF Priority Booking Opens: Platinum/Founder/Millennium/Gold – 1st February | Silver/Bronze: 8th February
General Booking Opens: 15th February