Reaching out through fiction

"Is it all worth it in the end?" I kept being asked why.

The concept, for some people, was just incomprehensible; an Arab writing fiction in English? Why? And why English? Why not Arabic? Why fiction? This was not just a challenge. It was the start of something new.

Writing a novel in English was unheard of amongst Bahrainis. This was something that was in the back of my mind during the writing of my very first novel. But it wasn't until I had actually published my book that it sunk in.

A little over five years since I first started working on it, QuixotiQ was born. And the response from the media and the public was a pleasant surprise. The novel went on to become a national best seller and received wide acclaim and praise from local and international critics and authors.
All of a sudden, this whole affair turned from just a guy's dabbling with storytelling and passion for writing, into a national celebration! Bahrain had its first English-language novelist. It didn't come easy. For five years I struggled with completing the manuscript.

Coming from a small country that had no history in English literature, I found it difficult to find a publisher for my novel. There simply weren't any !

Thankfully I discovered POD (Publish on Demand). This gave me the platform to launch my career as a writer. I must admit that the process of self-publishing was a useful learning curve, from editing, to layout and from art design to production.

The response QuixotiQ received was beyond my wildest imagination. I thought people would shrug it off, but to my utmost pleasure, they were 'interested'. I would never have imagined being asked to give a talk on writing and literature to a group of 16-year-old students, or being invited to partake in an international literature seminar in Cambridge, of being flown all the way to Stockholm for a cultural conference. And to top all that, being given the Bahrain 2004 Outstanding Book of the Year Award for QuixotiQ.

QuixotiQ did what I hoped it would. It got Bahrainis reading (and writing!) English-language literature. It began a new movement. It encouraged more young and talented locals to come out and present their work.

Following the success of my debut novel, two new local authors emerged on the scene by publishing their own prose and verse in English. It is important for any beginning writer not to give up and to peruse his goals and dreams. Most times, it pays off. I truly never thought I would ever get published, let alone have a best-selling and award-winning novel.

As I prepare to launch my latest book, I'm hoping that my stories will reach more people. Because, even though our world today might seem glum and dark - with a horrible war going on not far away - there are always things that make it worthwhile.

There will always be the pleasure of writing, and reading, and escaping reality through our vast imagination and beautifully odd dreams.I sometimes ask myself if my stories - any stories -mean anything when there's so much darkness in the world. But then I realise, what's life without hopes and dreams?

I believe that the only way to communicate with other cultures, to make the world a better place, is through our stories and tales, by sharing our astounding imaginations and fictions.
It doesn't matter where you're from, and what you believe in, we all understand and enjoy stories and we all love a good read.

People don't ask me why I write anymore.

Appeared in the GDN Vol XXIX , NO. 174, Sunday, 10th September 2006