His books include:
- Jabal al-'Anz (Goat Mountain), 1988
- Surat Badawi Mayyit (Portrait of a Dead Bedouin), 1990
- Matahat al-Raml (Sand Labyrinth), 1994
- Hufar Dafi'a (Warm Pits), 1999
- Ushaq Bayya (Bayya's Lovers), 2002
- Asrar Abdallah (Abdallah’s Secrets), 2006
- Rawaïh Marie-Claire (The Scents of Marie-Claire), 2008
- Nisāʾ al-basatīn (The Women of al-Basatin), 2011
- Al-ishtīāq ilā al-jāra (Longing for the Woman Next Door), 2020
His work has been shortlisted three times for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, in 2009 (for The Scents of Marie-Claire), 2012 (for The Women of al-Basatin), and 2021 (for Longing for the Woman Next Door).[2][3] His work has been translated into a number of languages, including English and French and has featured in multiple issues of Banipal magazine.[1]
Selmi has lived in Paris since 1985, where he teaches Arabic literature.
