List of Arab-American writers

This is a list of Arab-American writers.

Arab-American poets

• George Abraham (poet), of Palestinian descent
• Elia Abu Madi (1890–1957), Lebanese poet
• Etel Adnan (1925–2021), poet, essayist, and visual artist; Lebanese Albanian descent
• Joseph Awad (1929–2009), poet, painter, and worked in public relations; ^[1] of Lebanese and Irish descent.
• Ibtisam Barakat (born 1963), bilingual author, poet, artist, translator, and educator; Palestinian descent.
• Sharif Elmusa, poet and editor ^{[1] [2] [3]}
• Suheir Hammad (born 1973), poet, author, actress, performer, and political activist; of Palestinian descent
• Sam Hamod (1936–2021) poet, professor; of Lebanese descent ^{[1] [4]}
• Samuel John Hazo (born 1928), poet, playwright, fiction novelist, professor; of Assyrian and Lebanese descent ^[1]
• Lawrence Joseph (born 1948), poet, writer, essayist, critic, lawyer, and professor of law; of Syrian and Lebanese descent
• Lisa Suhair Majaj (born 1960), poet and scholar.
• Jack Marshall (born 1936), poet and author; of Iraqi and Syrian descent
• Farid Matuk, poet; of Syrian descent ^[5]
• Khaled Mattawa (born 1964), poet; of Libyan descent
• Jess Rizkallah  [ Wikidata ], poet, writer, illustrator; of Lebanese descent
• Matthew Shenoda (born 1977), poet; of Egyptian descent ^[6]
• Hedy Habra, poet, professor, fiction writer, literary critic and essayist; of Egyptian and Lebanese descent.

Arab-American fiction writers

• Chelsea Abdullah (fl. 2022), Kuwait-born fantasy writer, author of the Sandsea Trilogy
• Elmaz Abinader (born 1954), author, playwright and activist; of Lebanese descent; PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award recipient ^[1]
• Susan Abulhawa (born 1970), fiction and nonfiction writer, author of Mornings in Jenin ; of Palestinian descent
• Saladin Ahmed (born 1975), science fiction, comic book and fantasy author; of Lebanese, Egyptian, Irish, and Polish descent
• Dima Alzayat, fiction writer, author of Alligator and Other Stories ; of Syrian descent
• William Peter Blatty (1928–2017), screenplay writer and novelist; of Lebanese descent
• Vance Bourjaily (1922–2010), novelist, playwright, journalist, creative writing teacher, and essayist
• Catherine Filloux, playwright; of Algerian and French descent
• Khalil Gibran (1883–1931), writer, poet and visual artist; of Lebanese descent
• Ray Hanania, columnist, stand-up comedian, reporter, editor, public relations firm owner; former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977 to 1992); of Palestinian descent
• Randa Jarrar (born 1978) writer, novelist, essayist, and Arabic-English translator; of Egyptian and Palestinian descent
• Zeyn Joukhadar, trans writer and former biomedical researcher; of Syrian descent
• Mohja Kahf (born 1967), is a poet, novelist, and professor; of Syrian descent
• Ismail Khalidi (born 1982), playwright, screenwriter and theater director; of Palestinian descent
• Laila Lalami (born 1968), novelist and essayist; of Moroccan descent
• Hisham Matar (born 1970), novelist, essayist, memoirist, and writer; of British and Libyan descent
• Claire Messud (born 1966), novelist and literature and creative writing professor; of Canadian and Algerian descent
• Susan Muaddi Darraj, essayist, writer; of Palestinian descent
• Mikha'il Na'ima (also known as Mikhail Naimy; 1889–1988), poet, novelist, and philosopher; Lebanese ^[1]
• Naomi Shihab Nye (born 1952), poet, songwriter, and novelist; of Palestinian descent. ^[1]
• Mahmoud Saeed (born 1939), novelist, essayist
• Mona Simpson (born 1957), novelist
• Adam al-Sirgany (born 1989), editor and short story writer; of Egyptian descent ^[7]
• Thérèse Soukar Chehade, novelist; of Lebanese descent.

Arab-American nonfiction writers and journalists

• Diana Abu-Jaber, food history, of Jordanian and Palestinian descent
• Hakim Almasmari, journalist, publisher, editor; of Yemeni descent
• Moustafa Bayoumi (born 1958), history writer, academic; of Egyptian descent
• Chawky Frenn, painter, professor, writer of books on artists
• Afifa Karam (1883–1924), journalist, novelist, and translator; of Lebanese descent
• Rashid Khalidi (born 1948), historian of the Middle East; of Palestinian descent
• Daoud Kuttab (born 1955), journalist; Palestinian
• Saree Makdisi (born 1964), literary critic; of Palestinian and Lebanese descent
• Eugene Paul Nassar (1935–2017), editor, professor, and literary critic; of Lebanese descent
• Gregory Orfalea (born 1949), essayist, historian and poet; of Syrian and Lebanese descent ^[1]
• Amin al-Rihani (Ameen Rihani; 1876–1940) writer, intellectual and political activist; part of the mahjar literary movement; of Lebanese descent. ^[1]
• Abraham Mitrie Rihbany (1869–1944), theologian, philologist and historian; of Lebanese descent
• Salom Rizk (1908–1973), author, best known for his 1943 immigration-themed autobiography; of Lebanese descent
• Edward Said (1935–2003), writer, professor of literature, a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies; of Palestinian descent
• Steven Salaita (born 1975), academic writer, and historian; of Jordanian and Palestinian descent
• Anthony Shadid (1968–2021), foreign news correspondent; of Lebanese descent.
• Evelyn Shakir (1938–2010), literary scholar; a pioneer in the study of Arab American literature; of Lebanese descent.

See also

• Literature portal

• Arab American Book Award
• Before Columbus Foundation
• Kawkab America
• The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States

References

1. Simarski, Lynn Teo (July 1990). "Saudi Aramco World : Poetry in the Blood". Saudi Aramco World.
2. "Sharif S. Elmusa | Egypt Independent". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
3. Sharif S. Elmusa: Poet and environmental scholar. Actually, Palestinian Israeli, or Israeli Palestinian, or Palestinian Arab
4. Hamod, David (June 30, 2021). "A Beloved Arab American Poet Passes: Celebrating the Life of Dr. Hamode". Arab America. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
5. "Farid Matuk". United States Artists. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
6. "Matthew Shenoda". Lannan. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
7. "Adam al-Sirgany". Whisk(e)y Tit. Retrieved April 22, 2025.

Bibliography

Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab-American Poetry, edited by Gregory Orfalea and Sharif Elmusa, 1988, University of Utah Press.