“Discover the Arab world’s most dynamic novels now available in English thanks to Hoopoe — from the American University in Cairo (AUC) Press — a new imprint spotlighting Arab novels, the kind that already top the stacks on nightstands across the Middle East.

The genres offered fit into familiar niches in the West, yet not quite: historical fiction, thrillers, crime fiction, dystopian, noir, but all are set in the deserts, watering holes, mountains, farms, or cities of a diverse region. Bringing to the United States these pieces of fiction offers the warm welcome of an Arab hello, Al-Salaamu Alikum, yet these stories are just non-conformist enough to spur you on to the next unpredictable page.”