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Fiction

Fiction

In Saudi Arabia, the Prince has no Clothes

"His capricious and absolutist decisions will only lead to disaster. But the only choice we have is to applaud him, emigrate, or be jailed—and in the worst case, have our throats slashed."

TEXT: Hanaa Alkhamri September 11 2018
Fiction

Kurds have only their weddings

"Everyone joins in the fun until the singer switches to a loud lament about the massacre in Halabja—no one can understand the sudden change—and soon the bride is in tears and the groom too and grief...

TEXT: Lukman Derky: Lukman Derky September 11 2018
Fiction

The Walls of Stockholm

"My name is carved into all the trees / and scribbled on all the buses / despite how I cannot write a single word… "

Text: Wafai laila September 11 2018
Fiction

I am a man and my name is Wissam

"When signs of femininity started showing on my body I was keen to hide them. Not even my own family accepted me."

TEXT: Nasreen (Wissam) Ben Khemisa September 11 2018
Fiction

Standing up for poetry

Krisztina Tóth's second short story for PEN/Opp - a multi-layered tale of hierarchy and inequality.

TEXT: Krisztina Tóth March 13 2018
Fiction

Starless Night

A piece of "flash fiction" by Hungarian writer Krisztina Tóth, presenting a haunting snap-shot of everyday life in Budapest today.

TEXT: Krisztina Tóth March 13 2018
Fiction

The same old story, again

Writer Orsolya Karafiáth was fiercely attacked for her attempts to spotlight how Hungarian women are repressed and silenced in the wake of #MeToo. This is her story.

TEXT: Orsolya Krafiáth March 13 2018
Fiction

The City of White Shadows

Anouar Rahmani risks jail time because of what he writes. PEN/Opp publish an extract from one of the texts that is currently being investigated by the authorities. The City of White Shadows is an...

Text: Anouar Rahmani December 18 2017
Fiction

The Neighborhood Mirror

Max Lobe (1986) was born in Douala, Cameroon, and now lives in Switzerland. His first novel, 39 Rue de Berne, which portrays a gay man was awarded with the 2014 Prix du Roman des Romands. Lobes...

Text: Max Lobe December 18 2017
Fiction

A slaughterhouse for the law

”I am not threatening Erdoğan, I am warning him. I tell him not to wish for civil war. I am saying the same thing today. Civil war is terrifying. Is it a crime to say this?”

Text: Ahmet Altan September 22 2017
Fiction

Freedom or sunshine

”I removed the foil paper from the box of Akhtamar cigarettes that I had in my pocket and started writing my will on the scuffed paper. I was handcuffed and trembling with fear.”

Text: Pınar Öğrenci September 21 2017
Fiction

Requiem

Some of those outside are within the country. In a sense, they are “inside” too. Their houses could be raided any moment, they or their families could be detained, their passports could be confiscated...

Text: Tuba Çandar September 21 2017
Fiction

Milkman or the police

I have been a journalist for 37 years. This is the hardest period of my professional career. I was a journalist under...

Text: Can Dündar September 21 2017
Fiction

Oh ... Howling Dog

1/ In the soundless night, wildlife’s cries are being heard. All those cries are rhythmic like a melody. Sounds through...

Text: Nol Dara April 18 2017

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