The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), supported by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, hosted a virtual event with novelist Hoda Barakat and translator Marilyn Booth on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 titled “Authorship in Translation: Hoda Barakat & Marilyn Booth on the Worlding of the Arabic Novel.”  Director Moneera Al-Ghadeer framed the discussion as central to the UNESCO Chair’s mission of translating cultures for global audiences. She noted that genres, authors, and publishers shape the global journey of Arabic texts. But the category of "world literature" is often more about strategic market positioning and publicity created through translation. While moderator Jood Althukair opened by noting that translation is not merely linguistic transfer but holds the power to reconfigure the very meaning of ‘world literature’.

Novelist Hoda Barakat opened by reflecting on the challenges of Arabic-English translation and praised translator Marilyn Booth’s ability to capture the subtleties and unique spirit of the Arabic language. Barakat shared that each new language in which her novels are translated is an opportunity to encounter a different world and culture. She emphasized that she would like for her novels to be judged by global standards and not be constrained to regional audiences. While other translators have failed to appreciate the richness of the Arabic language and modified the original meaning of texts, Barakat highlighted that a successful translation collaboration entails an encounter between the soul of the translator and the spirit of the native language.

Author and translator Marilyn Booth agreed that authors and translators have their own spheres of creation but must meet halfway to match the voice of the novel. Booth discussed the intimate process of translation, from the back-and-forth between translators, authors, publishers, and editors, to Booth’s decision to retain many Arabic words in her translations in order to preserve the rhythm and depth of the original text. She mentioned the enormous and problematic responsibility of English translation, which often becomes the basis for translation into other languages instead of the original Arabic text. Both Barakat and Booth stressed the need to work towards restoring respect for Arabic literature and to bring it more fully into the realm of world literature.