SWANA Authors
Listen to audiobooks by authors of South West Asian and/or North African descent.
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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
View audiobook
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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I'll Have What He's Having
By: Adib Khorram
Narrated by: Shezi Sardar & Brent Billings
Length: 10 hours 4 minutes
Abridged: No
A smart, sexy "perfect romance" about mistaken identities, a no-strings fling, and the way one night—and one person—can change your life forever from the bestselling author of Darius the Great Is Not Okay (Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone, bestselling co-authors of A Merry Little Meet Cute)
When it comes to love, substitute teacher Farzan Alavi... Read more
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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
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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
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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
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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
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All's Well
By: Mona Awad
Narrated by: Sophie Amoss
Length: 13 hours 8 minutes
Abridged: No
From the author of Bunny, which Margaret Atwood hails as “genius,” comes a “wild, and exhilarating” (Lauren Groff) novel about a theater professor who is convinced staging Shakespeare’s most maligned play will remedy all that ails her—but at what cost?
Miranda Fitch’s life is a waking nightmare. The accident that ended her burgeoning acting... Read more
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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
View audiobook
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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
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Enter Ghost
By: Isabella Hammad
Narrated by: Nadia Albina
Length: 11 hours 41 minutes
Abridged: No
After years away from her family’s homeland, and reeling from a disastrous love affair, actress Sonia Nasir returns to Haifa to visit her older sister Haneen. This is her first trip back since the second intifada and the deaths of their grandparents: while Haneen made a life here commuting to
Tel Aviv to teach at the university, Sonia remained... Read more
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Evil Eye
By: Etaf Rum
Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian & Gail Shalan
Length: 11 hours 13 minutes
Abridged: No
“A moving meditation on motherhood, inter-generational trauma and how surface appearances often obscure a deeper truth. . . . A stunning second novel from a writer who set the bar very high with her first!”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and Community BoardThe acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of... Read more
View audiobook
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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
View audiobook
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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
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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
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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
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Behind You Is the Sea
By: Susan Muaddi Darraj
Narrated by: Rasha Zamamiri & Ali Nasser
Length: 6 hours 30 minutes
Abridged: No
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD""A beautiful portrait of a family reaching for their dreams while holding on to their roots.""—Publishers Weekly""Each chapter reads like a small masterpiece.""—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)An exciting debut novel that gives voice to the diverse residents of a Palestinian American community in... Read more
View audiobook
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You Exist Too Much
By: Zaina Arafat
Narrated by: Zehra Jane Naqvi
Length: 7 hours 53 minutes
Abridged: No
On a hot day in Bethlehem, a twelve-year-old Palestinian-American girl is yelled at by a group of men outside the Church of the Nativity. She has exposed her legs in a biblical city, an act they deem forbidden, and their judgement will echo on through her adolescence. When our narrator finally admits to her mother that she is queer, her mother’s... Read more
View audiobook
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Other Words for Home
By: Jasmine Warga
Narrated by: Vaneh Assadourian
Length: 3 hours 49 minutes
Abridged: No
New York Times bestseller and Newbery Honor Book!
A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States, perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Aisha Saeed.Jude never thought she’d be leaving her beloved older brother and father behind, all the way across the ocean in Syria.... Read more
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