Huwawa Books is an artist-led publishing house. We envision the photobook as a living archive of ideas and conversations, and foreground anti-colonial and cultural counternarratives from the Middle East and North Africa. Our publishing is a rendering of world-making—a space of resistance against othering. 

This publishing house closely collaborates and partners with artists to bring their expansive projects to life, supporting them through every phase of production. Our aim is to engage in and promote critical discourses that enrich and amplify alternative narratives of the region. 

Huwawa Books draws its name and ethos from the figure of Huwawa, the so-called monster from the Epic of Gilgamesh. In this ancient story, Huwawa, protector of the cedar forests, is cast as a beast—a giant slain by the protagonist who achieves greatness and takes cedar trees as trophies. This act of aggression by the invaders of the land is portrayed as heroic rather than barbaric. 

We envision a different depiction. Huwawa was not a monster but an indigenous custodian of the land, a guardian standing against greed and destruction. Interpreted as an apotropaic figure, Huwawa wards off evil spirits, tyrants, and invaders. We assert Huwawa’s role as protector—of forests and stories.


Contact info

info@huwawabooks.com
@huwawabooks