Literary translator and writer Mamon Zaidy takes up the ICORN residency in Uppsala

Mamon Zaidy is one of the most prolific literary translators in Libya. As a writer, he published his first story in 1988 in the Libyan Writers' Union magazine 'The Four Seasons'. He has worked on dozens of projects, translating a wide variety of literary texts from English into Arabic. Zaidy has also been described as ‘one of the distinguished secular writers in Libya’. Human rights, freedom, and justice are among the issues which both his translations and his own written work frequently address. Zaidy also worked as a top veterinarian in the Ministry of Agriculture in Al-Khums between 1999 and 2005.

Having introduced numerous secular and controversial texts to the Arabic readership, Mamon Zaidy faced criticism, threats, and persecution by all parties involved in the ongoing conflict in Libya. This forced him to seek protection through ICORN.

In 2022, Zaidy arrived in Uppsala, Sweden for his two-year ICORN residency where he has continued his translation and literary work in safety. You can read his full ICORN resident profile here.

Uppsala City of Refuge

The Municipality of Uppsala officially joined ICORN in 2010, having hosted writers at risk in collaboration with PEN Sweden since 2008. The ICORN programme in Uppsala is run through a partnership between the City’s Cultural Administration and the Public Library. In addition, Uppsala’s ICORN coordinator Annika Strömberg has been an ICORN Board Member since 2023 and the  acting Chair of the ICORN Board since May 2023.

Since 2010, Uppsala has hosted five ICORN residents, including Anisur Rahman and Dr Sedigheh Vasmaghi.