Born in Boston, he is the managing editor for the Library of Arabic Literature, a series of classical Arabic works in facing-page translation, established by New York University Abu Dhabi and NYU Press. He writes on book publishing in the Middle East for Publishing Perspectives, and translates Arabic fiction, including novels and stories by Sonallah Ibrahim, Bahaa Abdelmegid, Mohamed Makhzangi and Egyptian science-fiction author Ahmed Khaled Towfik.