The collective voices are my interest; it’s my area of research, it’s the literary journal I founded, it’s where my curiosity is never quenched.

When I was a young girl in Montreal in the 80s, I adored glossy magazines. The shelves in pharmacies, supermarkets, and newsstands were where I always lingered when accompanying my mom running errands and shopping for food. There was such a wide selection too, especially in bookstores – where they were divided into categories. I was curious about so many subjects – and I loved how when I walked along the aisle, I could peruse the shelves and see our dinnertime conversations on world politics reflected in striking images; as I kept walking, I’d continue to get captivated by geography, history, ancient civilizations, travel, fashion, cooking, celebrities, comics, and exciting word games.

Sherine Elbanhawy

Writer, researcher, student

Sherine Elbanhawy is pursuing an MA in Islamic Studies with a specialization in Women and Gender Studies at McGill University. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She’s the founder of Rowayat, a literary magazine showcasing Egyptian writers. Her writing has been published in The Malahat Review, Room Magazine, Arablit and others. She loves to travel, read and spend time with family, and friends. She’s AIM’s board member and secretary, tweets @CaireneGirl

Night Stencils

The Masters Review’s 2021 Short Story Award Winner

Forty stacks of disheveled newspapers, each one filtered by headline. Forty days of bleeding after birth. Forty days of travel in the underworld—one month and ten days. As a historian, Hoda should have felt more tethered to the fortieth day ritual, yet all she wanted was to be alone.

“I can’t tell people not to come.” Hassan whispered in her ear a fortieth day prayer to the dead about light, forgiveness, and paradise

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