Dr. Peter Clark OBE is a translator, writer and consultant. For thirty years he worked for the British Council in Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. He has translated eight works by contemporary Arab writers including fiction by Muhammad al-Murr, Liana Badr and Ulfat Idilbi, as well as drama, poetry and history. He has written books on Marmaduke Pickthall and Wilfred Thesiger, and has written obituaries of Arab writers for The Guardian. His latest publications include a collection of writings on the Middle East - Coffeehouse Footnotes - and a book on Istanbul in the series "Cities of the Imagination". Peter is a tour consultant, advising on cultural tourism in Turkey and Syria, a Trustee of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and a Contributing Editor of Banipal.