Mamon Zaidy

Mamon Zaidy is a literary translator and writer from Libya. Alongside being one of Libya’s most prolific literary translators, he published his first story in 1988 in the Libyan Writers' Union magazine 'The Four Seasons'. Zaidy also worked as a top veterinarian in the Ministry of Agriculture in Al-Khums between 1999 and 2005.

Through both his translations and own writing, Zaidy focuses on issues of human rights, freedom, justice, and the truth and has featured in multiple Libyan literary publications. He has written one book, a novel entitled Blue Sand, and has been described as ‘one of the distinguished secular writers in Libya’.

Mamon Zaidy simultaneously works on numerous projects, translating literary texts from English into Arabic. He has translated the following books:

• Gardening in the Tropics, a poetry collection by the Jamaican poet Olive Senior (published by the National Council for Arts, Culture and Literature, Kuwait, 2017).
• The Swastika Night, a novel by British writer Catherine Burdkin (Alka Publishing House, Belgium, 2017).
• Autobiography of Red, a novel by the Canadian poet Ann Carson (Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing, Syria 2017).
• A Few Short Sentences about Writing by American writer Verlaine Klinkenburg (Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing, Syria 2018).
• The Knight, selected works by J. Daniel Kharms (Elle Publications, Egypt, 2018).
• The Story of My Teeth, a novel by the Mexican writer, Valeria Luiselli (Electronic Book Publications, Toyoub Website, Libya 2019).
• Department of Speculation, a novel by the American writer Jenny Offal (Madark Publishing House, Saudi Arabia, 2020).
• The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature, by Viv Groskop, (Madark Publishing House, Saudi Arabia,2020).
• The Red Tent, a novel by Anita Diamant, (Al-Rafidain Publishing House, Lebanon, 2020).
• The Infernal Library: On Dictators, the Books They Wrote, and Other Catastrophes of Literacy by Daniel Kalder (Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing, Syria, 2020).
• Lady Susan by Jane Austen ‎‎(Al-Rafidain Publishing House, Lebanon, 2020).‎
• Multiple choices by Alejandro Zambra    ‎(Dar Al-Tariaq Publishing and Distribution. Saudi Arabia2021)
• The science of storytelling ‎by Will Stor   (Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing. Syria)
• The unpersuadable by Will Stor ‎(Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing. Syria.2022)
• Prison Letters   by George Jackson ‎(Al-Rafidain Publishing House Distribution‏.‏Lebanon.2021)
• Patterning instinct by Jeremy Lint(Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing. Syria.2022)
• Persian Fire by Tom Holland(Galles Publishing.Kuwait.‎2022)
• The Systems View of Life A Unifying Vision ‎by   Fritjof Capra, Pier Luigi Luisi‎ (Nineveh House for Studies and Publishing. Syria.2023)‎.

Zaidy has given a number of interviews speaking about his translation career and projects. You can read some of those interviews in Arabic here and here.

Due to the variety and nature of the literary works he has translated and introduced the Arabic readership, Mamon Zaidy has been criticized and targeted by all parties in the ongoing conflict in Libya. Having translated a number of secular and controversial texts, Zaidy has been accused of blasphemy and intimidated by Islamist groups.

Mamon Zaidy arrived in Uppsala in 2022 for his two-year ICORN residency. He continues writing and translating.