Paula Haydar is an American academic and translator.^[1] She obtained a bachelor's degree in physics in 1987 and an M.Ed in 1991 from the University of Massachusetts. She then obtained an MFA in literary translation from the University of Arkansas. At present, she is teaching Arabic at the University of Arkansas while pursuing a PhD in comparative literature.

Haydar has translated novels, short stories, and poetry from Arabic to English. Her book length translations include:

Touch by Adania Shibli The End of Spring by Sahar Khalifeh Learning English by Rachid Al-Daif (with Adnan Haydar) This Side of Innocence by Rachid Al-Daif The Kingdom of Strangers by Elias Khoury The Journey of Little Ghandi, by Elias Khoury City Gates by Elias Khoury (also translated as Gates of the City)

She won the Arkansas Arabic Translation Prize for her translation of. Her work has appeared in two issues of Banipal magazine (1998, 2008). She is married to fellow academic Adnan Haydar and lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Their son Fuad "Kikko" Haydar currently plays basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks.