The Edition Orient publishing house was founded in Berlin in 1980 on the initiative of the translator Naji Naguib, with the aim of disseminating twentieth-century Arabic literature more widely in Germany. After Naji Najib's sudden death in 1987, Dr. Dietlind Schack continued this mission. Since 1998, the publishing house - now run by the third generation led by Stefan Trudwind - has focused mainly on children's books from outside Europe.
The collection of titles expands at a leisurely pace from year to year; There are currently approximately 130 books available.Edition Orient has become the first publishing house in the German-speaking world to launch a bilingual series (Arabic and German). Nine volumes have been published so far, containing many masterpieces of modern Arabic literature, starting with Salah Abdel Sabour and Naguib Mahfouz, all the way to Youssef Idris in the final volume. These books primarily contain novels and short stories, designed to facilitate Arabic language learners’ access to literature in its original language, and to introduce them to complete Arabic literary works.The Illustrated Folktales series - a rich and imaginative collection of fairy tales - is recommended for German readers of all ages. Among the painters is the artist Michael Sawa, who published his first works with the Edition Orient publishing house. Eight volumes have been published so far, including “North African Fairy Tales” and “Chinese Fairy Tales.”
