Sharjah24: In keeping with its mission to instil a culture of reading in the young generation, the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) concluded the celebration of the National Reading Month by hosting Emirati writer Noura Al Noman in a virtual session as part of its Book Club programme.

Via the Zoom platform, the popular author discussed her science fiction novel Mandan with a youth & young adults’ audience of 53, which included members of Sharjah Youth and Sharjah Girl Guides (SGG). Mandan is the sequel to Ajwan, which won the 2013 Etisalat Children Literature Award for Best Young Adult Novel. 

The Emirati author took the young participants on a journey to the fascinating world of science fiction, noting that writing science fiction books could be equated to a ‘mission impossible’. Writers of science fiction must read hundreds of books and learn about various fighting techniques to enable them to write authentic battle scenes, she opined.  

Al Noman said her love of languages led her to study English Literature. Speaking about what led her to writing science fiction, she said: “In 2010, Kalimat publised two of my books, Qutta Qutna (Cotton the kitten) and Qunfuth Kiwi (Kiwi the hedgehog). While I was looking for science fiction books for my daughters, I realised that there was a gap in this literary genre. That is why I started writing science fiction. My first book in that genre was Ajwan.”

The session saw the Emirati writer holding an interactive discussion with the participants about her second and third science fiction books Mandan. She is now working on her fourth science fiction novel, which aims to raise the awareness of youth in the Arab world about the risks of blindly following people who seek to manipulate their minds and feelings. 

The writer also discussed with the young attendees their literary interests and encouraged them to read, write and engage in other activities that stimulate their intellect and help them build a better future for themselves as well as contribute to the development of society.