The translation movement of modern Arabic literature into Swedish

Earlier studies reviewed Swedish translations of modern Arabic literature up to 1998. This paper investigates this translation movement from 1999 to 2025, a time span of more than 25 years. The study examines the trends and factors that have played a role in the translation and publication processes. The paper provides bibliometric data and outlines Swedish translations of Arabic literary works that are indexed in Swedish databases and library catalogues as well as publishers’ websites. For that end, the study has used the Swedish National Library catalogue (LIBRIS), the Swedish World Literature website and Swedish Translators Encyclopaedia. The study has found that 137 Swedish translations of Arabic literary works have been published, out of which are 82 works of fiction, 53 poetry collections and two plays (produced for the stage). Children’s literature as a separate category comprises 22 publications. These numbers are far less than works translated from other languages, European in particular, due to the peripheral position of Arabic literature in comparison to those languages which are central in book markets. The paper also highlights a different translation activity of Arabic literary works by Arab writers who live in Sweden.