Amani Abo Shabana

Amani Abo Shabana is an Egyptian writer, poet, and blogger.. She writes short stories and poetry in Arabic and has been translated into English and Norwegian. She became well known in her home country, but also the target of threats for her popular blog Asdaa maktofa (أصداء مقطوفة) or Picked up echoes in English.

Abo Shabana’s writing includes poetry, short fiction, and cultural criticism she primarily shares through blogs. Her short fiction has been included in multiple collections, including the short story “Warmth” in the collection 3 Faze (2014), and “Where do flowers come from?” in the collection From..to (2015). Some of her most recent poetry has been translated to Norwegian and published in the magazine Fett in 2021. In her blog, she delves into the constraints of culture and tradition in Egypt, especially for women, and her experience as an outsider. She cites Kafka and the Palestinean writer Jabra Ibrahim Jabra as inspirations.

In 2020, after years living in hiding, Abo Shabana was welcomed as an ICORN writer in residence in the Norwegian city of Lillehammer. During her residency, she plans to continue her work as a writer and has been a public speaker on LGBTQ issues and the challenging situation of freedom of speech in Egypt.

To learn more about Amani Abo Shabana’s recent work, please visit her Tumblr blog.