Banipal Magazine

Gonçalo M. Tavares and Nocole Witt: Gonçalo M.Tavares (born August 1970) is a Portuguese writer and professor of Theory of Science in Lisbon. He published his first work in 2001 and since then has been awarded several prizes. His books have been published in more than 30 countries and the book Jerusalém has been included in the European edition of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die. German literary agent Nicole Witt of the Mertin Literary Agency in Frankfurt represents many notable and emerging Latin American authors. 2015 her agency won the International Literary Agent Award, which is presented by the London Book Fair and the U.K. Publishers Association. I took these photos before and during their literary event, as part of the "Lisbon Literature Days", October 30, 2026. ©Samuel Shimon

Belgian writer David Van Reybrouck and Ukrainian writer Andrei Kurkov, near the olive tree that holds the ashes of Portuguese writer José Saramago. Friday, October 30, 2026, after a group visit to the José Saramago Foundation by some of the writers participated in the Lisbon Literature Days.
©Samuel Shimon

Margaret Obank, Fleur Montanaro and Dragana Djordjevic at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, 18 September 2026.
Photo by Samuel Shimon

بانيبال في معرض الكتاب والشعر متعدد الثقافات، لندن، السبت 5 سبتمبر 2026 The Multicultural Book & Poetry Book Fair, London 5 September 2026

A Donkey in the Choir
By Wajdi al-Ahdal, Translated by William Hutchins

In Sana’a, on the eve of Yemen’s 1994 civil war, Tha’ira Abd al-Haqq—educated, restless, and trapped in a suffocating marriage to Socialist parliamentarian Ali Jibran—struggles against a society determined to police her body, voice, and freedom.
Haunted by violent nightmares and surrounded by gossip, political rivalry, religious charlatanism, and male authority, Tha’ira searches for a way to breathe. Her encounter with Munir, a young bookseller, opens a forbidden space of possibility. But as the country’s political crisis deepens, private desire, public hypocrisy, and institutional violence collide. A shocking crime draws police officers, clerics, politicians, servants, and neighbors into a darkly comic investigation in which nearly everyone has something to hide.
A Donkey in the Choir is a bold work of Yemeni literary fiction that blends political satire, psychological suspense, and social critique. Wajdi al-Ahdal exposes the absurdities of power, patriarchy, superstition, and corruption while portraying the human cost of a society approaching war.

amazon.com/Donkey-Choir-W…