SWANA Authors

The River Has Roots

By: Amal El-Mohtar

Narrated by: Gem Carmella

Length: 3 hours 53 minutes

Abridged: No

The River Has Roots is the hugely anticipated solo debut of the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award winning author Amal El-Mohtar. Follow the river Liss to the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, and meet two sisters who cannot be separated, even in death.

This program features music performed by the author and her sister,... Read more

Martyr!

By: Kaveh Akbar

Narrated by: Arian Moayed

Length: 10 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a... Read more

This Is How You Lose The Time War

By: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell & Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 4 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

* HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA *

“[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause and effect, wildly imaginative technologies, and increasingly... Read more

The Lion Women of Tehran

By: Marjan Kamali

Narrated by: Mozhan Navabi & Nikki Massoud

Length: 10 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

An “evocative read and a powerful portrait of friendship, feminism, and political activism” (People) set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran—from nationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali.

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and... Read more

The Map of Salt and Stars

By: Zeyn Joukhadar

Narrated by: Lara Sawalha

Length: 12 hours 17 minutes

Abridged: No

This powerful and lyrical debut novel is to Syria what The Kite Runner was to Afghanistan; the story of two girls living eight hundred years apart—a modern-day Syrian refugee seeking safety and an adventurous mapmaker’s apprentice—“perfectly aligns with the cultural moment” (The Providence Journal) and “shows how interconnected two supposedly... Read more

Against the Loveless World

By: Susan Abulhawa

Narrated by: Susan Abulhawa

Length: 13 hours 9 minutes

Abridged: No

Arab American Book Award Winner
2021 Aspen Words Literary Prize Finalist
2020 Athenaeum Literary Award Finalist
2020 Palestine Book Awards Winner
Longlisted for Rathbones Folio Prize

“Susan Abulhawa possesses the heart of a warrior; she looks into the darkest crevices of lives, conflicts, horrendous injustices, and dares to shine light that can... Read more

Bunny

By: Mona Awad

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

Length: 11 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Soon to be a major motion picture

"Jon Swift + Witches of Eastwick + Kelly 'Get In Trouble' Link + Mean Girls + Creative Writing Degree Hell! No punches pulled, no hilarities dodged, no meme unmangled! O Bunny you are sooo genius!" —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter

"A wild, audacious and ultimately unforgettable novel." —Michael... Read more

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

By: Ottessa Moshfegh

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 7 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Time, NPR, Vice, Bustle, The New York Times, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Entertainment Weekly, The AV Club, & Audible

A New York Times Bestseller • New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 

“One of the most compelling protagonists modern fiction has offered in... Read more

Glorious Exploits

By: Ferdia Lennon

Narrated by: Ferdia Lennon

Length: 8 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

An utterly original celebration of that which binds humanity across battle lines and history.

On the island of Sicily amid the Peloponnesian War, the Syracusans have figured out what to do with the surviving Athenians who had the gall to invade their city: they’ve herded the sorry prisoners of war into a rock quarry and left them to rot. Looking... Read more

Hijab Butch Blues

By: Lamya H

Narrated by: Ashraf Shirazi

Length: 7 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

A queer hijabi Muslim immigrant survives her coming-of-age by drawing strength and hope from stories in the Quran in this “raw and relatable memoir that challenges societal norms and expectations” (Linah Mohammad, NPR).

“A masterful, must-read contribution to conversations on power, justice, healing, and devotion from a singular voice I now trust... Read more

The Thirty Names of Night

By: Zeyn Joukhadar

Narrated by: Samy Figaredo & Lameece Issaq

Length: 9 hours 29 minutes

Abridged: No

Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction
Winner of the ALA Stonewall Book Award—Barbara Gittings Literature Award
Named Best Book of the Year by Bustle
Named Most Anticipated Book of the Year by The Millions, Electric Literature, and HuffPost

​​From the award-winning author of The Map of Salt and Stars, a new novel about three... Read more

A Tempest of Tea

By: Hafsah Faizal

Narrated by: Maya Saroya

Length: 11 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

"Maya Saroya gives an expressive performance in this thrilling historical fantasy filled with vampires, action, romance, and tea."—AudioFile on A Tempest of Tea

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a deliciously propulsive vampire-fantasy... Read more

The Stationery Shop

By: Marjan Kamali

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

Length: 9 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

From the award-nominated author of Together Tea and The Lion Women of Tehran, a poignant, "powerful" (The Wall Street Journal) and "affecting novel about first love" (Real Simple) that explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.

Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary... Read more

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

By: Zoulfa Katouh

Narrated by: Rasha Zamamiri

Length: 12 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.

Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents... Read more

Rouge

By: Mona Awad

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

Length: 14 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

A National Bestseller
A USA TODAY Bestseller
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Electric Literature, Tor, and Literary Hub

From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a “Grimm Brothers fairy tale for the modern age” (Good... Read more

American War

By: Omar El Akkad

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 12 hours 21 minutes

Abridged: No

“Powerful . . . As haunting a postapocalyptic universe as Cormac McCarthy [created] in The Road, and as devastating a look as the fallout that national events have on an American family as Philip Roth did in The Plot Against America. . . . Omar El Akkad’s debut novel, American War, is an unlikely mash-up of unsparing war reporting and plot... Read more

The Stardust Thief

By: Chelsea Abdullah

Narrated by: Nikki Massoud, Sean Rohani & Rasha Zamamiri

Length: 15 hours 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Inspired by stories from One Thousand and One Nights, this book weaves together the gripping tale of a legendary smuggler, a cowardly prince, and a dangerous quest across the desert to find a legendary, magical lamp.Neither here nor there, but long ago . . . Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn... Read more

White Tears/Brown Scars

By: Ruby Hamad

Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò

Length: 7 hours 2 minutes

Abridged: No

Called "powerful and provocative" by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the New York Times bestselling How to be an Antiracist, this explosive book of history and cultural criticism reveals how white feminism has been used as a weapon of white supremacy and patriarchy deployed against Black and Indigenous women, and women of color.

Taking us from the... Read more

The Skin and Its Girl

By: Sarah Cypher

Narrated by: Victoria Nassif & Haneen Arafat Murphy

Length: 12 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

A young, queer Palestinian American woman pieces together her great-aunt’s secrets in this “enchanting, memorable” (Bustle) debut, confronting questions of sexual identity, exile, and lineage.
 
“As beautifully detailed as a piece of Palestinian embroidery, this bold, vivid novel will speak to readers across genders, cultures, and... Read more

The Idiot

By: Elif Batuman

Narrated by: Elif Batuman

Length: 13 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction • A New York Times Book Review Notable Book • Nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction

“Easily the funniest book I’ve read this year.” —GQ

“Masterly funny debut novel . .  . Erudite but never pretentious, The Idiot will make you crave more books by Batuman.” —Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair

A portrait of... Read more

The Arsonists' City

By: Hala Alyan

Narrated by: Leila Buck

Length: 19 hours 34 minutes

Abridged: No

A rich family story, a personal look at the legacy of war in the Middle East, and an indelible rendering of how we hold on to the people and places we call home

The Nasr family is spread across the globe—Beirut, Brooklyn, Austin, the California desert. A Syrian mother, a Lebanese father, and three American children: all have lived a life of... Read more

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English

By: Noor Naga

Narrated by: Amin El Gamal & Noor Naga

Length: 5 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Winner of the Graywolf Press African Fiction Prize, a lush experimental novel about love as a weapon of empire.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, an Egyptian American woman and a man from the village of Shobrakheit meet at a café in Cairo. He was a photographer of the revolution, but now finds himself unemployed and addicted to cocaine, living... Read more

A Woman Is No Man

By: Etaf Rum

Narrated by: Ariana Delawari, Dahlia Salem & Susan Nezami

Length: 10 hours 15 minutes

Abridged: No

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A Washington Post 10 Books to Read in March • A Marie Claire Best Women’s Fiction of 2019 • A Washington Book Review Difficult-To-Put-Down Novel • A Refinery 29 Best Books of the Month • An Electric Lit 20 Best Debuts of the... Read more

Frankenstein in Baghdad

By: Ahmed Saadawi

Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini & Kaleo Griffith

Length: 8 hours 1 minute

Abridged: No

International Booker Prize finalist

Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction

“Brave and ingenious.” —The New York Times

“Gripping, darkly humorous . . . profound.” —Phil Klay, bestselling author and National Book Award winner for Redeployment

“Extraordinary . . . A devastating but essential read.” —Kevin Powers, bestselling author and... Read more