Published on the occasion of Mudun Short Story Prize, an international competition that pays tribute to cities around the Arab world which was launched by the Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah (UAE), in 2021, Mudun: Stories from Arab Cities brings together the 19 stories—10 in Arabic and nine in English—that were shortlisted for the prize, including the winning submissions.
Barjeel Art Foundation is an independent, Sharjah-based initiative established by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi in 2010 to manage, preserve, and exhibit an extensive collection of over 1,200 pieces of modern and contemporary art from North Africa and West Asia.
Fatemah Al Awadh (b.1998, Kuwait) is a student at Kuwait's Gulf University for Science and Technology studying English literature. She is the first-place winner of GUST's first literature symposium and a member of TEFL Kuwait's Student Forum for Innovative Research.
Noora Alhashimi (b.2000, Bahrain) is a graduate of the University of Liverpool's architecture program and is currently studying at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy. As an artist, her works have been exhibited at the Khaleeji Art Museum and Last Oil Well Gallery in Bahrain.
Barrak Alzaid (b.1985, Kuwait) is a writer of prose, poetry, and art criticism who grew up in Kuwait. His art criticism is published in ArtAsiaPacific Magazine, Jadaliyya, PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, and Columbia Journal of Gender and Law. His prose is published in Nailed Magazine and two anthologies of writing by Muslim authors, The Ordinary Chaos of Being Human, and New Moons. Alzaid is a founding member of the artist collective GCC.
Ashton Eleazer (b.1997, United States) studied photo and video journalism and dramatic art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked for a relief and development NGO in Hassan Sham, Iraq, and is currently employed at a film production company in Dubai. Eleazer's writing has been featured in numerous publications including Cellar Door, Coulture Magazine, and the Daily Tar Heel.
Bhoomika Ghaghada (b.1991, United Arab Emirates) is a researcher and writer, born and raised in the UAE. She writes frequently about Arab cities, particularly Dubai and Sharjah. Her MA thesis at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, was about the ongoing expulsions from the Downtown Dubai neighborhood of Karama. Ghaghada's work has been featured in publications such as: Rusted Radishes, Jadaliyya, Medium, Postscript Magazine, and many more.
Neetha Kurup (b.1992, India) is a Malayali who lived in Dubai between 1992 and 2017. An engineering graduate of BITS, Pilani, and Heriot-Watt University, she is now a freelance writer based in Bangalore. Kurup is interested in stories that traverse borders and impact human life, with a special focus on women's rights, climate change, and issues pertaining to The Other. As a third-generation former Dubai resident, she is used to finding photos of Dubai construction sites when she looks for childhood photos.
Ramzi Maqdisi (b.1980, Palestine) is a filmmaker, writer, and actor. He began his professional career as an actor in the Palestinian National Theatre and is the co-artistic director of Quds Art Films; a collective of artists from Europe and the Middle East covering multiple disciplines including film, theater, and installation. Maqdisi's work addresses the minute and everyday aspects of life under occupation. The Bell Jar is a literary revision of an audio-guided tour developed with Olivia Furber titled The Land's Heart is Greater than its Map, which was commissioned by the Barbican Centre.
Soraya Morayef (b.1982, Egypt) is a writer, translator, and occasional photographer from Alexandria, Egypt. She has an affinity for travel and documenting street art as well as city architecture. From writing about the graffiti scene in Cairo to reviewing arts and culture, Morayef's work can be found in publications such as: Sunday Telegraph, The Egypt Independent, The National, Bettery Magazine, and Jadaliyya.
Lynn Cheikh Moussa (b.1997, Lebanon) is a writer living in Beirut. Her writing explores love, capitalism, politics, and feminism. Lately, she has shifted the narrative towards herself, in a belated attempt of self-exploration and self-love. Cheikh Moussa has written for Beirut Today, Rusted Radishes, mxogyny.com, and An Nahar.
Edited by Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Razmig Bedirian, Faris Bseiso, Reem Khorshid.
Texts by Neetha Kurup, Soraya Morayef, Ashton Eleazer, Noora Alhashimi, Lynn Cheikh Moussa, Ramzi Maqdisi, Fatemah Raed Al Awadh, Barrak Alzaid, Bhoomika Ghaghada, Sami Raghad, Naima Abdul Wahab Abdullah, Diar Murshid, Wajdi Al Ahdal, Ben Addi, Nawaf Al Mazmi, Maryam Mirza, Laila Kubba, Ahmed Fouadeldin.
