'Magical' & 'Powerful' Moments - New Book by Ali Al Saeed

Described by internationally renowned authors and critics as "magical", "powerful" and "original", Ali Al Saeed's new book, a collection of short stories entitled, Moments, will be released this autumn.

The collection has already received critical acclaim from internationally well-known and established authors, including American author, playwright and artist Shay Youngblood and British poet and novelist Peter Tomlinson.

Al Saeed wrote his first short story, Bow, a story about bullying and nostalgia, back in 1998. Since then, he wrote no less than 40 stories. Half of those will be featured in Moments. The 240-page book will be published in paperback by Al Maseerah Printing & Publishing House.

"It's very rare to find a genuinely supportive and eager publisher not only in this country, but the region as a whole, and I'm grateful for Mr Nijad Al Atassi, for giving me this opportunity. Al Maseerah is a publishing house with long history and I'm honoured to release Moments under their imprint," said Al Saeed.

Moments will be launched on September 6th, (06.09.06). A special ceremony will held on the occasion. Other events and appearances for the author are also being scheduled, including a book signing at a leading bookstore in Bahrain and a reading and talk at a local cultural centre. Details will be announced as soon as they are finalized.

But it's also worthy to note that Al Saeed had prepared the book from cover to cover all by himself, from the cover design to the page layout. "It was a process I
enjoyed immensely. I kept things simple and used my computer knowledge to create the front cover, based on one of my own photographs," he explained.

As for the stories, Al Saeed promises the readers that they will be taken on an unusual and fascinating journey. Mixing a variety of genres and styles, the author created a series of stories

Talks are also underway to release a limited edition audio book on CD, containing five short stories taken from the book, and three short poems, all exclusively narrated by the author himself.

The audio book was recorded and produced at Mello Studio, by Bahraini producer and music composer Hashim Al Alawi. "Hopefully we will have a limited edition CD come out in time with the launch of the book," Al Saeed said.

The national best-selling author is also the recipient of the Bahrain Book of the Year Award.