Zaher Alajlani

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Zaher Alajlani
Zaher Alajlani photographed in 2024 Zaher Alajlani photographed in 2024
Born	(1985-05-30) May 30, 1985 Damascus, Syria
Occupation	Writer, researcher, translator
Language	English
Nationality	Syrian
Alma mater	University of Damascus; National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; University of Indianapolis; Babeș-Bolyai University

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Zaher "Zack" Alajlani (born 30 May 1985 in Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian writer, researcher, and translator based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His short stories have appeared in various international literary journals, and two of his works have received Pushcart Prize nominations. He writes primarily in English and speaks English, Arabic, Romanian, and Greek.

Education

Alajlani holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Damascus. He obtained a master's degree in English culture, literature, and ideology from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as a master's degree in communication from the University of Indianapolis.

In 2023, he earned a Ph.D. in Philology from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. His doctoral thesis, titled Harbingers of Doom: Mad Science and the Death of Meaning, was completed under the supervision of Corin Braga.

Career

Alajlani’s work has appeared in a range of literary journals in Europe and the United States. Two of his short stories have received nominations for the Pushcart Prize.

His fiction explores themes such as madness, individualism, existential dread, and moral hypocrisy.

Reception

Alajlani's fiction has been discussed in literary and cultural outlets. The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan praised his debut Arabic collection, Death to the Desert and Other Stories, highlighting its focus on madness, war, moral dilemmas, and nationalist hypocrisy.

A 2021 review of “On the Bank of Someșul Mic” praised the story’s simple yet compelling narration and the intrigue created by encounters between the narrator and a supposedly mad man devoted to throwing pebbles into the river, but criticized it for leaving its central tension unresolved and potentially frustrating readers.

In 2025, Alajlani was interviewed by Radio Cluj, where he discussed writing as a way of coping with existence and cited nineteenth-century Russian realists and early modern horror writers as major influences.

Bibliography

• In Death Veritas and Other Stories
• Vera and Other Stories
• On the Bank of Someșul Mic and Other Stories
• Now She Dreams of War and Other Stories from Transylvania
• Death to the Desert and Other Stories

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