Hamid Ismailov (Russian: Хамид Исмайлов; Uzbek: Hamid Ismoilov / Ҳамид Исмоилов or Абдулҳамид Исмоил; born May 5, 1954) is an Uzbek journalist and writer, who was forced to flee Uzbekistan in 1992 to the United Kingdom, where he took a job with the BBC World Service. He left the BBC on 30 April 2019 after 25 years of service. Born in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan his works are banned in Uzbekistan.
Books in order of publication (In English, Russian and Uzbek):
Poetry
Сад (Garden) (1987)
Пустыня (Desert) (1988)
Post Faustum (1990)
Книга Отсутстви (1992)
Шунчаки (‘By the by’) in Uzbek (2026)
Novels
Собрание Утончённых (Conference of the Refined, 1988)
Hay-ibn-Yakzan (2001). Of Strangers and Bees, trans. Shelley Fairweather-Vega (2019)
Hostage to Celestial Turks (2003, as Nouman Smyles)
Дорога к смерти больше чем смерть (lit. “The Road to Death Is More Than Death”, 2005). A Poet and Bin-Laden, trans. Andrew Bromfield (2012)
Железная дорога (1997). The Railway, trans. Robert Chandler (2006) – won the AATSEEL pprize and a Rossica special commendation
Мбобо (2009). The Underground, trans. Carol Ermakova (2015) – was listed among “10 best novels set in Russia” by The Guardian and recognised as one of the best Russian novels of the 21st century by Continent
Googling Soul (2004, short stories, to be published by Glagoslav in 2026)
Two Lost to Life
Вундеркинд Ержан (lit. “Wunderkind Yerzhan”, 2011). The Dead Lake, trans. Andrew Bromfield (2014) – was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and named a Book of the Year by both The Guardian and The Independent, longlisted for The Dublin International Literary Prize
Jinlar basmi yoxud katta o’yin (2012). The Devil’s Dance, trans. Donald Rayfield and John Farndon (2018) – won the EBRD Literature Prize
Gaia, Queen of Ants, trans. Shelley Fairweather-Vega (2020)
Amber or Good Morning, Midnight (2020, unpublished)
Manaschi, trans. Donald Rayfield (2021) – was a finalist for the Jan Michalski Prize and shortlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize
Русская Матрёшка (Russian Matryoshka, to be published by Matthes&Seitz in German in 2027)
Bizkim – komputerlar, yo dunyoning eng go’zal shoiri (We Computers: A Ghazal Novel, trans. Shelley Fairweather-Vega, published 2025 by Yale University Press) – was a finalist for the National Book Award and shortlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize
Туш тили/Tush Tili (to be published)
Scottish Dances or Shestory© of a Whirling Balerina (2026, in Uzbek, being published on Telegram, to be translated and published by Yale University Press as Fiery Dancer)
Esse Homo Sovieticus – tetralogy, consisting of Tarantula’s Bite, Mother, Daughter and Sinful Soul, Conference of Refined and The Fearsome Dnieper (not translated and not published yet).
Oak Lawn Library Friends 