Naim Ibrahim Attallah ( ar, نعيم إبراهيم عطالله, 1 May 1931 – 2 February 2021) was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Palestinian-British businessman and writer. He was the publisher of Quartet Books and the owner of

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofou ...

. The

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

-born entrepreneur was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 2000 as a "legendary adorer of beautiful women". He was born in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

in 1931. He was the publisher of Quartet Books, which was founded in 1972 by Ken Banerji, John Boothe, William Miller and Brian Thompson, and taken over by Attallah in 1976. Attallah was a backer of the ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by v ...

'' and ''

The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edi ...

''. He was also the owner of the London-based The Women's Press, founded in 1977; it was founded by him and Stephanie Dowrick. His book of memoirs, ''Fulfilment and Betrayal: 1975–1995'', was published in 2007. According to

Jennie Erdal Jennie Erdal (2 February 1951 – 23 May 2020) was a Scottish writer. She was the author of ''Ghosting'', a memoir of her childhood in a Fife mining village and of being the long-serving ghostwriter of Naim Attallah, the publisher and owner of Q ...

's memoir ''Ghosting'' (2005), she was the ghostwriter of some of his books, articles and other writings. Attallah was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to literature and the arts.

Books

* ''Fulfilment and Betrayal: 1975–1995'', Quartet Books, 2007, * ''In Touch with his Roots'', Quartet Books, 2006, * ''The Boy in England'', Quartet Books, 2005, * ''The Old Ladies of Nazareth'', London: Quartet Books, 2004, * ''Dialogues'', Quartet Books, 2000, * ''Insights'', Quartet Books, 1999, * ''In Conversation with Naim Attallah'', London: Quartet Books, 1998, * ''A Woman a Week'', Quartet Books, 1998, * ''Tara and Claire'', Quartet Books, 1997, * ''Asking Questions: An Anthology of Interviews with Naim Attallah'' (with Charlotte Smith), 1996, * ''A Timeless Passion'', Quartet Books, 1995, * ''Speaking for the Oldie'', Quartet Books, 1994, * ''More of a Certain Age'', Quartet Books, 1994, * ''Of a Certain Age'', Quartet Books, 1993, * ''Singular Encounters'', Quartet Books, 1992, * ''Women'', Quartet Books, 1988,

References

* Intervie
''The Times''.

External links

"Naim Attallah Online".
* * * Sally Weale

''

'', 27 November 2000 – profile of Naim Attallah. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Attalah, Naim 1931 births 2021 deaths British book publishers (people) Palestinian businesspeople Palestinian emigrants to the United Kingdom Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Palestinian Christians