2018 and 2019 were great years for Asian-influenced book releases. Books like Descendant of the Crane, Convenience Store Woman, and I love you so Mochi swept in on an arc of Asian authors. This has led to reading challenges like the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge (YARC).

For 2020, I want to see something different. I’m of Middle-Eastern heritage, and as much as there’s been some surge in Arab-themed books, there’s hardly enough. I’ve scoured titles looking for telltale sands, and genies, and gollums, and jinns, but there just isn’t enough out there.

I’m writing a book inspired by the stories my father told me growing up, of jinns and efrits, but I’m hardly a published author, and one book won’t make a dent in Arab-inspired literature.

But to celebrate the books that are published and that are MidEast-inspired, I’m crowning 2020 the Year of the Middle East Reading Challenge (YMERC).

Similar to how the quiet pond, Sprinkles of Dreams, Shut Up Shealea, and Vicky Who Reads ran and co-hosted the YARC challenge, I’ll be setting up a similar challenge. I’m looking for co-hosts who have an interest in Middle Eastern books and a respect for the culture.

If you’d like to be involved, please fill out this form.

Keep checking back for more information as I plan this challenge. We officially begin January 1, 2020!