“A hidden view of the writer’s life … a world that consumes the soul and passion, the changing nature of ocial classes, and marginal existence at the bottom of society.” – Salah Fadl, Egyptian critic

Idris Ali (1940 – 2010), one of Egypt’s leading Nubian writers, was the author of three short story collections and six novels, including Dongola (AUC Press, 2006). Self-taught in literature, he attended the Religious Institute of al-Azhar. Elliott Colla is associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at Georgetown University. He has translated a number of Arabic novels, including Ibrahim Aslan’s The Heron and Ibrahim al-Koni’s Gold Dust (AUC Press, 2007, 2008).