Arab American Literature Reading List
A reading list celebrating books by Arab American authors and the many stories, histories, cultures, and imagined worlds they bring to the page. This list was created as a way to expand my own reading beyond the perspectives and experiences most familiar to me.
I am not Arab American, and I do not intend this list to speak for the Arab American community or define the full range of Arab American literature. I welcome recommendations, corrections, and notes from Arab American readers and authors, especially if there are books that should be added or removed.
created by Riel.Belle
last updated July, 2026
Comments
I have updated the title and description of this list, as it was Originally made for my book club, but I have come to notice its the only Arab American List on pagebound. I think it could potentially become a good quest, and wanted to make sure it was no longer connected to my book club.
As I am not Arab American, and made this list to help myself explore more voices, I am very open to if I move to nominate this list to become a quest, to have someone else take on the running on the quest as I know I am not the most well read in this selection.
I really like this list but some of the authors listed are not Arab Americans, as in theyâre not Arab.
đcan you tell me which ones? Where did google fail me?
Sorry I just saw this. I think you already edited the list but when I get home from work I can take a look again đ Dont worry Google isnt perfect! Im just really happy this list even exists and that you saw my comment ^_^
Sorry for taking so long I had to find my note to myself. I think you already made some changes but I've kept my list the same just for ease.
Shannon Chakraborty is white american, S. K. Ali is indian canadian, P DjĂšlĂ Clark is afro-caribbean american, Nazifa Azad is indo-fijian canadian, and Uzma Jalaluddin is south asian canadian.
Melissa Bashardoust I'm not sure, I couldn't find anything online. Everyone else I could find something online stating they were arab canadian/american with them as the source. I did go by what I could find online for everyone, at least to the best of my ability, finding interviews or their own websites, but of course I could make mistakes đ
Wonderful! Looks like some of those I had already caught and it looks like Bashadoust is Persian/Iranian, not Arab.
Oooo what a cool theme!
Our bookclub president does a great job of creating a seasonal book bingo with box topics to get out of our comfort zones and into trying new things!
