Another 'First' for Bahraini Author

MANAMA – June 29th: Writer Ali Al Saeed is set to become one of the very first Bahrainis to record and release an audio book when he goes into the studio tomorrow (June 28).

The 28-year-old, best-selling author of QuixotiQ, the first novel written and published by a Bahraini in English, will record a number of his short stories for a special edition audio book that will coincide with the launch of his upcoming collection of short stories, entitled Moments.

The recording sessions will be held at Mello Studio (http://www.mellostudio.com), supervised by Bahraini music composer and studio owner Hashim Al Alawi. Al Alawi has released two albums featuring original music over the past couple of years.

The audio book will be recorded over five days and will feature a selection of stories from the upcoming book, Al Saeed's follow-up to his award-winning novel, which was published in 2004.

"Audio books are becoming widely popular around the world and I hope that I can introduce the local reading community to this different form of storytelling," said Al Saeed, "Hashim is a very professional musician and audio tech/master and I'm confident he will produce a high quality recording. Once the production is completed we will be looking into publishing the CD and distributing it."

Al Saeed is currently in talks with a local publisher who has shown interest in publishing the collection, with the hope of launching it early autumn. 'Moments' will contain 22 short stories ranging in theme, genre and style.

"These are stories that I've written over the past eight or so years. I feel very strongly towards them. I've grown as a person and as a writer with them. And I hope readers will relate to these different stories and find something magical in them," Al Saeed said.

Al Saeed was awarded the Bahrain Book of the Year Award for his debut novel and was invited to participate in a number of international literary and cultural gatherings in Europe including the UK and Sweden.

Al Saeed's QuixotiQ is available at Booksplus and Al Riwaq Art Gallery. His new book, Models of Success: The Journey, will be launched on Saturday, July 1st. For the latest on Al Saeed's latest projects log onto www.alialsaeed.com.