Arwa Kaso

Arwa Kaso is a Syrian author and former journalist from Lattakia whose work moves between fiction, memory, psychology, and social observation. Writing in Arabic and English, she draws on a life shaped by journalism, migration, and close attention to the emotional and moral tensions that define ordinary lives.

Kaso studied journalism at the University of Damascus and began her professional career in the press, including work at Al-Tishreen Newspaper in Damascus. Early in her career, she gained recognition for her reporting and for her ability to bring difficult and often overlooked subjects into public view. That foundation in journalism continues to inform her writing, which often blends narrative detail with a sharp interest in character, conscience, and the hidden pressures within families and society.

Her literary work spans different settings and social worlds, reflecting a perspective shaped by both rootedness and displacement. Over the years, she has lived in Syria, Sweden, Pennsylvania, and Texas, experiences that broadened the geographic and cultural range of her work while deepening her interest in questions of identity, longing, social change, and the inner lives of her characters.

Since publishing her first book in 2008, Kaso has continued to build a body of work that includes novels and other writing marked by psychological tension, moral reflection, and cross-cultural themes. Her books have reached readers in both Arabic and English, and her work has been recognized for its seriousness of vision and emotional range.

Alongside her writing, Kaso is also a visual artist whose drawings reflect the same sensitivity, imagination, and introspective quality found in her literary work.

She is currently based in Lincoln, Texas.