Discover the perfect gifts for book readers with AUC Press’s holiday picks—your ultimate book gift guide for the season.
Whether you’re searching for your next holiday read, a heartfelt gift to be cherished for years, or inspiring titles to build your winter reading list, we have something for every reader.
From interesting novels to thought-provoking nonfiction and beautifully designed coffee table books, our selection is sure to bring joy to book lovers of all tastes.
Fiction
A stunning debut novel and an impressive feat of storytelling that pulls together mythology, magic, and ancient legend in the gripping story of a mother’s struggle to save her only daughterNadine...
A NOTABLE AFRICAN BOOK OF 2024 (BRITTLE PAPER)Written by iconic Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, this classic of love, desire, and family breakdown smashed through taboos when first published...
A multigenerational epic set at the collapse of Muslim rule in Medieval Spain, available now for the first time in a new, complete translationA TOP 100 LITERARY WORK OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (THE ARAB...
An intergenerational drama rendered in beautiful prose featuring the struggles of a mother and daughter to navigate as outsiders in Baghdad and LondonWINNER OF THE 2024 SHARJAH AWARD FOR THE BEST INTERNATIONAL...
Biographies
The only memoir in English by a Palestinian Arab who grew up in the Beersheba district prior to 1948, now with a new afterwordSalman Abu Sitta was just ten years old when the Nakba—the mass expulsion...
WINNER OF THE SAWIRIS CULTURAL AWARD A multigenerational literary memoir that sheds new light on one of the Arab world’s most renowned Romantic poets, through the eyes of his granddaughterIbrahim...
"How a female artisan became the Arab world’s top jewelry designer"—CNBC on Azza FahmyThe inspiring personal story of an exceptional female artist and entrepreneur who overcame great obstacles to...
“[A] remarkable journey.” —The TelegraphThe incredible life story of legendary cardiac surgeon and scientist Magdi Yacoub, an outsider who succeeded against the odds Veteran journalists...
Arabic Language learning
A lively and informative collection of fifty common Egyptian colloquial expressions and proverbs, this book is must for learners of Arabic, language enthusiasts, and lovers of the country and its cultureThe...
GOURMAND AWARD WINNER 2023, BEST ILLUSTRATEDA delightfully illustrated selection of 100 commonly used Egyptian food expressions Can you guess what Egyptians mean when they say that something is “a...
An indispensable reference book of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic verbs for students and teachersMastering the conjugation of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ECA) verbs is an essential part of the student’s...
A unique comic-illustrated exploration of the rich vocabulary derived from body parts in Arabic We are all married to our bodies, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health....
Art & Architecture
The first illustrated study of ethnic silver jewelry in Yemen, by an expert researcher and collector, new in paperbackSilver Treasures from the Land of Sheba documents a disappearing artistic and cultural...
A stunning photographic compilation of Egypt’s abandoned palaces and grand buildingsBetween 1860 and 1940, Cairo and other large cities in Egypt witnessed a major construction boom that gave birth...
PROSE Award Winner, Art History & CriticismThe first-ever book-length history of Arab graphic designArab graphic design emerged in the early twentieth century out of a need to influence, and give...
A lavishly illustrated photographic journey through the history and traditions of the ancient churches of Ethiopia.The ancient Aksumite Kingdom, now a part of Ethiopia, was among the first in the world...
Egyptology
A meticulous study of the social, economic, and religious significance of coffin reuse and development during the Ramesside and early Third Intermediate periods, illustrated with over 900 imagesFunerary...
World-renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass weaves a spellbinding narrative about how the pyramids were built and why, new in paperbackNearly five thousand years ago, the fourth dynasty of Egypt’s Old...
An innovative account of the careers of the Nubians who occupied the Egyptian throne, written by a leading Egyptologist and author of Tutankhamun, King of EgyptThe region of Nubia—now spanning the...
Cutting-edge research by twenty-four international scholars on female power, agency, health, and literacy in ancient EgyptThere has been considerable scholarship in the last fifty years on the role...
cookbooks
The delights of Egypt’s flavor-filled cuisine come to life in this beautifully illustrated gift book, bringing quintessential Middle Eastern recipes within the reach of cooks everywhereEgyptian cuisine...
A modern twist on traditional Middle Eastern cuisineMiddle Eastern cuisine is renowned the world over for its sophistication, variety, and flavor. Bilhana (Egyptian for 'bon appétit') brings a contemporary...
Classic Egyptian favorites from one of Cairo’s leading restaurants, in a new soft cover edition Traditionally, Egyptian cooking has been best practiced and enjoyed at home, where generations of unrecorded...
WINNER OF THE AL-AHRAM APPRECIATION PRIZE WINNER OF THE GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARD A fully illustrated compendium of traditional Egyptian recipesIn this beautifully illustrated volume, Magda Mehdawy...
History
The gripping history of the devastation and resurrection of the Marshes of Iraq, an environmental treasure of the Middle East, now a protected siteA FOREIGN AFFAIRS BEST BOOK OF 2024 The Mesopotamian...
A richly annotated survey of writings by four of West Africa's most renowned Sufi scholarsOutsiders have long observed the contours of the flourishing scholarly traditions of African Muslim societies,...
A historical and contemporary study of Palestinian musicianship in exile in the Middle East, spanning half a century in disparate locationsPalestinian Music in Exile is a historical and contemporary...
Hyperechios's Exhortation to the Monks for the first time in English translation Hyperechios is a little-known monk of the fourth to fifth centuries, who is thought to have lived in...
