Book Club: October by Nur Turkmani

In the latest episode of The New Arab Book Club, Nur Turkmani joins Elias Jahshan to discuss her debut poetry collection ‘October’, which was recently published by Hajar Press and shortlisted for the 2026 Jerwood Prize for Best First Collection.

Set across six Octobers in Lebanon beginning with the uprising of 2019, ‘October’ moves through revolution, economic collapse, displacement, war and the genocide in Gaza, and explores how we can preserve people and places while holding space for love and grief alongside the weight of collective history.

Nur Turkmani is a Lebanese writer whose poetry and fiction have appeared in a long list of publications such as The Rumpus, DAZED, Rusted Radishes, Poetry London, New England Review and more.

October is out now via Hajar Press: https://www.hajarpress.com/books/october

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Elias Jahshan is a journalist and social media manager at The New Arab. He is also a writer who has been published in various media outlets and anthologies, and is the editor of the groundbreaking This Arab Is Queer (2022) and This Queer Arab Family (2025), both published via Saqi Books and available in bookstores globally.