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Travelling might no be an option or is limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic right now but here at Nasher News we are going to take you around the world with our series of Authors Across The Globe. When people travel to other countries, like most tourist, they are more interested in the physical or visual aspect of the country; such as scenery, landmark spots, tourist attractions etc but rarely do people explore the literary aspect of it and see it through another perspectives. We will be ‘visiting’ several countries of the world, choosing few authors from each country that people should know and read their work.
We start our journey from ‘home’ United Arab Emirates.
Afra Atiq : is an Emirati award-winning poet who has won multiple poetry slams. She won the 2017 ADMAF creativity award, making her the first spoken word poet to win the award.
Reem Al Kamali: Emirati journalist and author. Her book, Saltanat Hurmoz, won the 2015 Al Owais Creativity Award.
Roudha Al Marri: Author of “UAE 101 – Stories and Cultural Learnings,” the Dubai born and raised author places the UAE centre stage. She co-authored the barrier-breaking book with Italian Illaria Caielli and takes readers on a tour of the multi-cultural nation that people from all walks of life call home.
Dubai Abulhoul: Author of Galagolia: The Hidden Divination, the first Emirati fantasy novel in English. She was named “Young Arab of the Year” in 2016 at the first Young Arab Awards for her work in youth advocacy, literature, and journalism.
Maitha Al Khayat: Children’s illustrator and writer. She is a Board Member at the UAE Board of Books for Young People – IBBY, and an ambassador of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. In less than 10 years, Al Khayat has published more than 160 books. Her popular book My Own Special Way received an award for best book in the Children’s Forum, Riyadh (2011). Maitha’s picture book Turn off the Lights was also awarded best picture book at the Publishers’ Forum, Sharjah (2016). She has also published her first Young Adult novel Tofan.
Amna Al Mansouri: Author of the bestselling novel Your Eyes Hamda. She has also written screenplays for the popular cartoon series Freej.
Eman Al Yousuf: Writer of two short story books, Wijooh Insan and Ta’er Fi Haowth Alasmak, and two novels, Al Nafitha Allati Absarat and Haris Alshams (Guard of the Sun), the latter of which won first prize at the Emirates Novel Awards in 2016.
Nadia Al Najjar: An Emirati author who has published three novels and one children’s book, her novel Mada’en Al-Lahfa, known in English as Cities of Passion, won first place in the Emirates Award for Fiction in the Short Fiction category – 2015. The novel consists of 16 chapters, and each chapter is named after a different city ranging from Dubai to Damascus. Her latest novel, Trio D, tells the story of the burning and sinking of the Dara Ship which was carrying 690 passengers and 132 crew, 238 of whom died in the incident.
Salha Obaid: Author of several books including The Postman of Happiness and The Hidden White Thread. She won the Short Stories Award from the Cultural Office of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in 2012, the Italian/Emirati Cultural Exchange competition in 2013 and the Al Owais Creativity Award for best fiction book of 2015.
Adel Khozam: An Emirati poet who has published around 14 Books in poetry collections and 2 novels, his poems have been translated into several languages. His last novel which was entitled, “Life through the Third Eye”, was translated into English and was well-received in the United States. It won the Golden Seal for featured books in literature and was nominated for an Eric Hoffer Award for Independent Publication in America.
Nasser al-Dhaheri: An Emirati writer and journalist who has published several volumes of fiction and non-fiction, including short story collections and novels.
Yasser Hareb: The author of Towards a New Thought in 2006,Picasso and Starbucks in 2011, The New Slaves in 2013 and Take Off Your Shoes in 2015 forwarded by Paulo Coelho.
