Machaho Tellem Chaho

 (photo credit: Yacine Bouaziz ) Every Friday, for the past 38 weeks*, men and women with their children have been peacefully demonstrating in Algeria, reclaiming public space and demanding a complete overhaul of the political landscape. In the country, these demonstrations are described as part of a larger whole: the " hirak " (less often harak ), 'the movement'.  It was of course only a matter of time before the hirak became the main subject in books. So far, non-fiction leads with analyses and commentaries of this nationwide movement, written in Arabic and French, by single authors or collectives, published as early on as May 2019 (demonstrations began on 16 February 2019). The hirak has also crossed into poetry and fiction. Khaled Ben Salah's poetry collection " diary of an African man who wears a floral shirt and smokes L&M's in the time of the revolution " was published by El Mutawassit editions in October (see an excerpt

It's Algiers' International Bookfair season at the moment in Algeria, the famed SILA which takes place yearly at the end of October-beginning of November. This means it's 'the' time of year for new book releases. For Algerian publishing houses, October is very much a 'Super Thursday' equivalent. The autumn is the season when new titles get released to coincide with the boost the Bookfair gives to books. As a result, titles for fiction abound in that period, in Arabic, French, and Tamazight, bringing both new and known authors' voices to the fore.  I have always found it impossible to keep a full record of the titles released by Algerian authors at that time of year, there are so many (thankfully). Nonetheless, here is a list of the new titles I have come across, released in 2019, most of them since September. Al Mutawassit editions: Amara Lakhous - طير الليل Samir Kacimi - سلالم  ترولار