From left: Members of the DAH book club Wafa Alghamdi and Rida Savari, Leena Al-Mashat, Hanan Al-Ghamdi, DAH scholarship senior officer and organizer for the book fair; Areej Abdulaziz Khairallah, sales representative at Sibwayh books; Mamdooh Al-Radadi; Rana Al-Maddah, author of the book “Bil-Shamah Ahmer.” — Photo by Sana Abdul Salam Sana Abdul Salam Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Writers like Thuraya Batterjee, Mamdooh Al-Raddadi, Rana Al- Maddah, and Leena Al-Mashat shared their ideas about writing and spoke about the world of publishing at a book fair held at Dar Al-Hekma College, The three-day book fair, which was held from Monday to Wednesday, included talks and book signing by authors, a book donation drive, and storytelling gatherings for children. Mamdooh Al-Raddadi said: “Don't be afraid to express your ideas; just pen them down as they come. Language and other technicalities are secondary.” “You need to keep two things in mind before beginning to write: first, you have to love reading. And read from various genres; don't just limit yourself to certain kinds of books. “Second, nothing is impossible in this day and age. You can find a publisher, or you could even publish online; but don't let anything stop you from writing,” Al-Raddadi added. Al-Raddadi is a financial and business consultant, and from his experience in the field he penned his book Banks, Snakes & Ladders. Leena Al-Mashat, a young Saudi writer, said: “As I was a teenager, people did not take my efforts to get published seriously. Many people told me to wait before aspiring for something like this, but I tried different avenues and fortunately I have been able get the messages in my work across.” “As long as one's work has powerful ideas to convey, I believe age is immaterial to whether or not one should get published,” Al-Mashat added. One of the recurring themes in Al-Mashat's works includes the struggle of the people in Gaza, and she hopes to give light to their plight through her work. Her recent works include a book of poems called Harmony Letters. The visiting writers also interacted with the audience and gave away signed copies of their books. The fair's book donation drive saw students from the college selling donated books for a minimal fee. The amount collected was contributed to the Dar Al-Hekma scholarship fund. Publishers Kadi & Ramadi, and Sibawayh also participated at the book fair. While the fair was organized by the scholarship office, the college's book club “Fikr” played an active role in the organization.
