The ideas and stories of Amara Lakhous, Zafer Şenocak and Kader Abdolah make a long journey. Each of them writes in a language other than their mother tongue, and their books are then translated into English. They tell Julie Rose what gets dropped, or even picked up, along the way.

Kader Abdolah (International)
Kader Abdolah studied physics in Tehran and was active in the student resistance. He published two novels about life under the Khomeini regime before fleeing his homeland in 1985. He settled in the Netherlands, quickly mastered the Dutch language and started writing in it. He is the author of two collections of short stories and three novels. In 2008 he published ‘The Messenger’, about the prophet Mohammed, and an alternative translation of the Koran underlining a more moderate and “human” Islam. Supported by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Amara Lakhous (International)
Amara Lakhous was born in Algiers in 1970 and moved to Rome in 1995. He has degrees from the University of Algiers and the University la Sapienza. His first book, written in Arabic when he was 23, was published four years later in a bilingual edition. His second book, ‘Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio’, was published in Italy in 2006; his third, ‘Divorce Islamic Style’, in 2010. Amara Lakhous was awarded Algeria's most prestigious literary award, Le Prix des Libraires Algeriens, in 2008. Supported by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Sydney.

Zafer Şenocak (International)
Zafer Şenocak was born in Ankara and has been living in Germany since 1970, where he is a prominent voice in discussions on multiculturalism and national identity, and a mediator between Turkish and German culture. A widely published poet, essayist, novelist, journalist and editor, Şenocak has won several prestigious literary awards in Germany. He writes for major German newspapers and has been writer in residence at a number of American universities and colleges. His work has been translated into numerous languages. Supported by Goethe-Institute Australia.

Julie Rose (Australian)
Julie Rose is an internationally acclaimed translator, based in Sydney. Her translations include Hugo’s ‘Les Misérables’, Racine’s ‘Phèdre’, André Gorz’s ‘Letter to D.’, over 10 works by Paul Virilio and works by Jacques Rancière, Chantal Thomas and many others. Her latest translation is André Schwarz-Bart’s ‘The Morning Star’. She has served on the committee of Sydney PEN and is a recipient of the PEN medallion and the New South Wales Premier’s Translation Prize. She is on the editorial board of ‘Log’ in New York and contributes essays on the city to that journal.