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Henar Press

@henarpress.bsky.social
374 followers 50 following 66 posts

Nonprofit press dedicated to publishing Kurdish voices from the diaspora and homeland. Home to the Kurdish literature database. linktr.ee/henar.press

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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
We are thrilled to announce our first ever US book tour for our upcoming November release, I Am Going to Kill Somebody (forward by Agri Ismaïl)! Firat Cewerî, alongside translator Jeannette Okur will be speaking across bookstores and universities in Dallas, Austin, and Palo Alto, Oct 31st to Nov 4th
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Asterism Books about publishing Kurdish literature in translation! We discussed the politics of translation, community building, fiction for the diaspora, what makes a good novel, and our recent and upcoming work. asterismbooks.com/blog/post/ku...
“I could go on about the colonial implications of censorship and its role in linguicide, but at its heart fiction is a love story: an amalgamation of your essence and memories, frozen in time for future generations to indulge in. When I hear about writers tortured in prisons for writing in Kurdish, I can't understand why they'd keep writing after being released. But then I read their work and find fragments of myself in it, and I understand there's a larger purpose.” Aryan Omar Hassan “Kurdish Literature in Translation: Henar Press" Asterism BooksRead our interview with our distributor, Asterism Books!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Exciting news! On September 24th, Aryan will be giving a reading of our first book, GĀBOR, with Gary Lovely at Clintonville Books in Ohio! If you are local to Columbus, we'd love to see you there. Details on timing to come.
Join Henar Press for a reading of GABOR at Clintonville Books September 24th!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Had the chance to talk to Chad Post about Kurdish literature in the Three Percent Podcast. We spoke about why I decided to launch Henar Press, barriers of translating, and more. I'm immensely grateful to have been a part of such an important project. threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/kurdish-li...
Check out our conversation with Chad Post on the Three Percent Podcast! Kurdish Literature and Henar Press
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are thrilled to announce that GĀBOR is officially out in the world and available for purchase. Thank you to everyone who made this day possible! Learn more and order here: asterismbooks.com/product/gabor
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
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?
Highlights from The Markaz Review's Hawar: The Kurdish Issue"The  Great Mother's Vigil," fiction. 3 July 2026 by Hoshang Waziri, Hassan Abdulrazzak. A murder during a raid on a Kurdish village is transformed into myth through the voices of seven children struggling to make sense of what they witnessed.Memory as Resistance: An Interview with Zeynep Esmeray. 3 July 2026. By Ali. A lifelong nomad and self-described "memory carrier" recounts her experiences as a trans Kurdish woman, and how the theatre found her.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
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
GABOR: A Novel. By Seyed Qader Hedayati. Translated from the Kurdish by Chiya Parvizpur and Hourieh Maleki Qouzloo. Less than 2 weeks until publish!GABOR
In a Kurdish village under military occupation, a group of boys scrape together their savings and buy a hand-stitched football to prove they aren't losers to the other kids. When it lands inside the opposing military base, Karim sneaks in and takes it back—only for the soldiers to burn the neighborhood to the ground looking for it. Streets are bombed, homes are raided, snipers take aim at pedestrians, residents are dragged off and imprisoned. 
Told through contradicting, unreliable narrators and almost entirely in dialogue, Seyed Qader Hedayati delivers a seldom explored portrait of friendship and boyhood under the anarchy of occupation.
“Each chapter unfolds like a surreal hero's quest as we follow the children's unstoppable yearnings for things as mundane as a soccer ball and a comic book. I found myself laughing, wincing, and cheering these boys on as they take ever greater risks for the most basic of human needs: dignity.”—Aisha Abdel Gawad, author of Between Two MoonsSeyed Qader Hedayati (b. 1976, Bukan) is one of the leading experimental novelists in Kurdish literature. Hedayati's novels include The Echo of a Full Stop (2000), The Yoke of Azazel (2012), Gabor (2017), The Grave City (2019), and Bardinah (2022). Beyond fiction, he has shaped Kurdish literary discourse through his essay collections Kurdish Prose and the Change of Form and Stone on Stone, and his translation of Bahram Bayzaie's The Truth and The Wise Man.Chiya Parvizpur (b. 1989, Sanandaj) is a Kurdish writer and translator working in both Kurdish and English. His work has been published by Transnational London Press, Whisper House Press, Henar Press, and Common Notions. His debut novel, The Smell of Wet Bricks, was published in the UK, while his second, Twenty-Four Seconds of Shehin's Life, received the prestigious Kal Literary Prize in Kurdistan. He has translated notable Kurdish novels into English including Ata Nahai's Birds in a Gale and Dealing Helaleh's Destiny, Seyed Qader Hedayati's Gabor, and Jiyar Jahanfard's The Shadeless Border. He is currently writing his third novel.
Hourieh (Huri) Maleki Qouzloo is a multi-lingual writer, translator, and researcher with over two decades of teaching experience. Her literary and academic work centers on identity, hybridity, and displacement. Huri is passionate about fostering cultural exchange through literature and education and is actively engaged in translating contemporary Kurdish lit
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
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).
Have you signed up for the Henar Press newsletter?Stay updated on our latest releases, events, opportunities, and more!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
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/
Call for submissions. The Markaz Review's Kurdish Issue. Submission deadline: June 1. Publish date: July 3.Kurdistan is an enigma, sometimes even to its own people, who are all too often forced to suppress their language and heritage, as a result of laws imposed from without, by colonial states determined to extinguish any Kurdish revolution, or through migration to the diaspora.In any event, the consequence is often the same: Kurdistan fading into a distant memory until it’s reduced to the second hyphenation of their identity. Through our Kurdish-themed issue, TMR is looking to embrace this dissonance, and in so doing, reject historical portrayals of Kurdistan.TMR invites your responses to these questions, in whatever form inspires you to create — essays or creative nonfiction, short stories, poetry, interviews, reported pieces, art, photography, film/video, and more. We’re looking for submissions from across the diverse map that is Kurdistan, whether they reflect a vital, shared experience or, conversely, a singularly unique perspective.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
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!)
Book cover: I Am Going to Kill Somebody. A Novel. Firat Ceweri. Translated from the Kurdish by Jeannette Okur. Winner of the Ostana Prize.Firat Cewerî is a Kurdish writer, translator, and publisher who left Turkey for Sweden in 1980 to write freely. He has since produced forty books, twenty original works and twenty translations into Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish), ranging from Dostoevsky and Steinbeck to Swedish authors including Karin Boye, Gunnar Ekelöf, and Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer, as well as children's classics by Astrid Lindgren and others. In 1992, he founded the literary journal Nûdem (New Time), running it for a decade while nurturing emerging Kurdish writers, and later launched Nûdem Werger (New Time Translation) to bring world literature into Kurdish. His own fiction has been translated into numerous languages and adapted for film and theater. A Swedish Writers' Union member since 1987, he has served on the Swedish PEN board and contributed to major Swedish newspapers.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
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!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
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!)
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
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).
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
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
defendrojava.org
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...
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
I AM GOING TO KILL SOMEBODY by Firat Cewerî, tr. by Jeannette Okur FALL 2026
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Common Notions Press @commonnotions.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
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...
arablit.org
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…
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
If you're a Kurdish writer, or translating a work from a Kurdish writer from any language to English:
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
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!
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Hannah Fox @hannah-sakura.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
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...
themarkaz.org
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.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
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.
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Jay King @jay-king-art.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
I’ve read “Tale of a Wall”… his certainty that he would be in prison forever - I can’t imagine how this must feel…
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
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).
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Agri Ismaïl @agri.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
This is well worth your time and money ⬇️
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Raven Baxter told me Yan Lianke will win the Nobel
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
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...
secure.givelively.org
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
🚨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?...
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
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.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
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 👏👏👏
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
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.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
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.
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The Markaz Review مجلة المركز @markaz-review.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
🗓️[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...
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City Lights Booksellers & Publishers @citylightsbooks.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Happy to Celebrate Arthur Sze as our New Poet Laureate of the U.S.!
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Take action for bibliodiversity. mailchi.mp/bab48bdc94e6...
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
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.
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
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!!
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Didn't realize @henarpress.bsky.social was here on Bsky. Read our talk w/publisher & founding editor Aryan Omar Hassan & then make sure to follow them for updates on what's coming next. arablit.org/2025/09/11/a...
arablit.org
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…
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Also, really, their Kurdish literary database is a treat for lit geeks & beyond. henarpress.org/database
henarpress.org
Kurdish Literary Database - Henar Press
Explore our database of Kurdish literature in English. Search and discover a wide range of Kurdish books, including novels, poetry, and memoirs.
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ArabLit & ArabLit Quarterly @arablit.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Today, the promised conversation with Aryan Omar Hassan, the founding editor of Henar Press (first Kurdish-lit focused press in the US), about why they're focusing on experimental Kurdish literature. cc @themountaingoats.bsky.social. arablit.org/2025/09/11/a...
So ‘experimental’ is the broadest term I could use to encourage Kurdish writers to really take their craft and flip it on its side. Many publishers have asked Kurdish writers to construct a novel that explains Kurdistan to the West. I want the polar opposite. I want to be disillusioned.

Selfishly, that’s also the type of literature I consume. The novel that changed me was Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler. From that moment, I knew there was something transcendental about literature that could only be experienced by contorting language and narrative into forms we haven’t previously encountered.
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Hannah Fox @hannah-sakura.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
I’m so pleased to have had the chance to be involved in helping to expand @henarpress.bsky.social’s database of Kurdish Literature in English & glad that others are as excited about it as we are!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Friendly reminder that Henar Press will be hosting a virtual reading for Sleeping in the Courtyard (University of Arkansas Press) this Saturday, August 30th from 2:00–3:30 PM EDT!
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Henar Press is absolutely delighted to announce that we will be hosting a virtual reading for Sleeping in the Courtyard: Contemporary Kurdish Writers in Diaspora (University of Arkansas Press). Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link: forms.gle/ArUEqXotVm8k...
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Exciting news! Henar Press will join RAWIfest 2025 as a panelist. I'm beyond excited to be in conversation with so many incredible folks. It's such a privileged to represent the Kurdish community and support my fellow SWANA writers ❤️☀️💚 Get your tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/rawifest-2....
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Hannah Fox @hannah-sakura.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Looking forward to the release of this new collection of Kurdish women’s writing, published by @uarkpress.bsky.social - Thanks Holly Mason Badra for bringing together writing from this broad range of voices from Kurdistan & the diaspora.
Image shows book cover with title “Sleeping in the Courtyard” and sub-heading “Contemporary Kurdish Writers in Diaspora”.
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The New Arab @thenewarab.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Joseph Daher argues that progressives must build a pluralistic Syria that recognises the freedoms of Kurds. 📝Read full piece here: www.newarab.com/opinion/kurd...
newarab.com
The Kurdish struggle is central to Syria's future
Joseph Daher argues that progressives must build a pluralistic Syria that recognises the freedoms of Kurds.
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Henar Press @henarpress.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Hello from Henar Press, the first nonprofit English-language press dedicated to publishing Kurdish literature! We're a small but passionate team based in Columbus, Ohio, and we're excited to start accepting submissions at HenarPress.org!
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Gary Lovely @colonellovely.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
Here's something I haven't talked about yet but I'm very excited about: I've joined the board of @henarpress.bsky.social, a nonprofit publisher of Kurdish literature in translation. Best part? It's based right here in Columbus, Ohio! Learn more here: henarpress.org
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