Leila Al Mutawa ( ar, ليلى المطوع, born in 1987 in

Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain Int ...

) is a

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. She is known for writing novels centering frankly on the female perspective in a society with strong fundamentalist elements.

Early life

Born in

in 1987 to a devout family, she began reading avidly after receiving a library of masterpieces from her father upon his death, which was supplemented by her mother's book and magazine purchases. At the age of ten, she wrote an article about the danger of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

addiction, but was reluctant to become a writer. Moving alone at twenty to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

, she met a friend whose story inspired the disastrous marriage in her debut novel, written starting in 2008 and published in 2012. Her debut novel was ''قلبي ليس للبيع'' (“My Heart Is Not for Sale”).

Career

She participated in the

International Prize for Arabic Fiction The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) ( ar, الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية) is the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic ...

"Booker" workshop in 2016, and was chosen in 2019 to participate in the book "How many lungs for the coast " by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

", and the book was published in 2020. She was a guest at the " Sharjah International Book" in 2020, and was chosen in 2021 to participate in the "Lyon Literature Festival".

Work

* ''قلبي ليس للبيع'' (“My Heart Is Not for Sale”). * ''أحلام لا تموت'' (“Dreams Never Die”)

External links

in Sayidaty

* ttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5753724._ Goodreads page

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutawa, Leila Bahraini feminists Bahraini novelists 1987 births Living people People from Muharraq