10 Books By Arab Authors to Read This Month and All Year

April is Arab American Heritage Month—a time to celebrate the rich, vibrant stories, voices, and contributions of Arab American communities. From lyrical memoirs to powerful novels and tender poetry, Arab American authors have gifted us with a wealth of literature that challenges stereotypes, explores identity, and centers joy, resistance, and memory.

Whether you’re diving into this literature for the first time or looking to expand your reading list, here are a few titles we love by Arab authors—each offering a unique window into culture, family, love, and self-discovery.

5 Books by Arab Authors I’ve Read and Enjoyed

1. Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

   This historical fiction novel follows a Palestinian family as they are forced to uproot their lives, resettle, and assimilate time and time again after being displaced from their home in 1967.

2. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

   This recent release is a fantasy novella about the bond between two sisters who are caretakers of enchanted willows and the violence that tears them apart.

3. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

   In post-Arab-Spring Egypt, a young Egyptian-American woman meets a young local man, thus beginning a dark romance that digs into identity politics and the romanticization of one’s homeland.

4. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon

   One of my favorite books I read last year, Glorious Exploits is a historical comedy set during the Peloponnesian War and written in a contemporary Irish voice. It follows two Syracusans who decide to use their local Athenian prisoners-of-war to put on a performance of Medea.

5. Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj

   Behind You is the Sea dives into the Palestinian-American community in Baltimore, giving a voice to a variety of perspectives across generations, class, and gender, with poignant results.

5 Books by Arab Authors That are Still On My TBR

1. The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher

   In The Skin and Its Girl, a young, queer Palestinian-American woman pieces together her great-aunt’s secrets in a poetic tale about desire and identity.

2. A Tempest of Tea by Hafzah Faizal

   A Tempest of Tea is a young adult historical fantasy novel about a young criminal mastermind who hatches a plan to infiltrate vampire society and pull off a heist with her ragtag crew.

3. All’s Well by Mona Awad

   This literary horror novel follows a floundering college theater director coping with chronic pain as she tries to stage a comeback performance of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well with a mutinous cast.

4. Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

   Evil Eye is a literary fiction novel that explores both the weight of expectations on Palestinian-American women and the legacy of intergenerational trauma through a wife and mother whose carefully constructed life is beginning to implode.

5. Mother of Strangers by Suad Amiry

   Mother of Strangers is a heartbreaking historical romance following two young lovers at the onset of the destruction of Palestine and the displacement of its people in the late 1940s.

Final Thoughts: You Should Be Reading Arab Authors All Year Round

Arab American literature is not a monolith—there’s joy, heartbreak, rebellion, tenderness, and everything in between. These stories remind us that identity is complex, memory is political, and representation matters all year long.

Have a favorite book by an Arab American author? Drop it in the comments or tag us @itslitbooks.club—we’re always excited to grow our reading list.

And if you’re ready to discover your next favorite book, don’t forget to check out our Blind Date with a Book packages hand-curated with incredible BIPOC authors who are changing the literary landscape—one story at a time.