Dania Idriss Debuts Tales of the Mountains and the Sea

A Powerful New Literary Voice Emerges: Dania Idriss Debuts Tales of the Mountains and the Sea

A genre-defying collection blending myth, history, and speculative fiction places Arab and Muslim women at the center of their own stories

A striking new voice in global literature arrives this spring with the release of Tales of the Mountains and the Sea, the debut short story collection by Lebanese-Canadian author Dania Idriss. Published by Freehand Books, the book offers a haunting and genre-bending exploration of identity, memory, and the enduring impact of history on women’s lives.

Blending elements of myth, folklore, and contemporary gothic, Idriss crafts five interconnected stories set against pivotal moments in modern Lebanese history. Through her evocative and immersive prose, she centers young women not as bystanders of history—but as powerful agents navigating its consequences, complexities, and inherited legacies.

In Tales of the Mountains and the Sea, the boundaries between the seen and the unseen dissolve. A grieving teenager becomes host to a presence that may not be entirely benevolent. A struggling family is confronted with an unsettling offer that challenges their moral limits. Amid the outbreak of civil war, a young girl watches as her brother is drawn into dangerous territory. Each narrative unfolds with emotional precision, weaving together the personal and the political in ways that are both intimate and expansive.

Idriss’s work stands out for its deliberate reimagining of Arab and Muslim women beyond reductive Western narratives. Her characters are complex, resilient, and deeply human—inhabiting stories that are as culturally specific as they are universally resonant.

A doctoral student in English at the University of Calgary, Dania Idriss focuses her academic and creative work on global literatures, with a particular emphasis on Arabic speculative fiction. Her writing is informed by interdisciplinary approaches that include folklore, eco-gothic, and postcolonial studies—elements that enrich the textured, atmospheric quality of her fiction.

With its lyrical intensity and haunting undertones, Tales of the Mountains and the Sea marks a remarkable literary debut—one that signals the arrival of a compelling new voice on the international stage.

Book Details

Title: Tales of the Mountains and the Sea
Author: Dania Idriss
Publisher: Freehand Books
Publication Date: May 2026
Format: Fiction / Short Stories
ISBN: 9781997534174
Dimensions: 8″ H x 5″ W x 1″ L

About the Author

Dania Idriss is a Lebanese-Canadian writer and doctoral student in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. Her work explores global literatures, with a focus on Arabic speculative fiction, and often centers Arab and Muslim women as autonomous figures beyond limiting and stereotypical narratives.