Archives: Authors

MOHAMMED AL-ZAQZOOQ is a researcher born in Khan Younis. He studied Arabic language and literature at Al-Aqsa. Mohammed is an active member in literary and cultural organizations shaping Gaza’s cultural landscape and the former general coordinator of the “Utopia for Knowledge” assembly. His poetry collection The Soothsayers of Khanun won the Khalili Poetry Award at the First Palestinian Cultural Forum for Creative Writers in 2018.

MAHMOUD ALSHAER is an editor, curator, and poet who, until October 2023, was deeply involved in cultural work in Gaza, leading initiatives such as Majalla 28 and Gallery 28 and coordinating the cultural program at Al Ghussein Cultural House in Gaza’s old city.

Deidre Isaac is a Malaysian author, born and raised in Sandakan, Sabah. She started her reading journey on Wattpad and her love for books has only bloomed since then. A hopeless romantic at heart, her favourite genre to read is romance with a promise of a happy ending. When she’s not spending her time reading, you can find her watching Formula 1 during race weekends. Clichés & Curses is the first book she ever finished writing and also her debut novel. You can connect with her on Instagram & Wattpad at @inabookdaze.

Avni Martin is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the Founder and Director of an ICF Accredited coach training school, WASAMBE Pte Ltd which stands for I was, I am and I will be, and relates to our clients past, present and future. Avni is a recognized thought leader and speaker, with over twenty-two years of experience in leading change. Avni is also an Inner Child Integration Therapist, NLP Master Practitioner, a mentor and a trainer who develops world-class corporate coaches for leaders, teams and organisations internationally.

Avni served as a Global Director of ICF Coaching Education, and Director of Research for ICF Singapore for 6 years where she is led pioneering research for Organisational Development across Southeast Asia, working with 3 of the largest HR Associations in the region and leaders of 1300 organisations, to create awareness, excellence and advancement of the coaching profession.

Prior to her professional coaching career, Avni’s corporate career involved accelerating large-scale organizational change at NGA Human Resources, and managing leadership development programs at Vanto Group. Having developed the HAPPY™ Coaching System, Avni works with leaders, teams and organisations to rewrite their past perspectives, unlock their present potential and deliver their future possibilities.

Sun Tzu was an ancient Chinese military
general and strategist, and one of East Asia’s most important historical figures. He had a successful military career and went on to write The Art of War, a treatise on warfare and military tactics that encapsulates his strategies and expertise in the subject. The book has been translated into numerous languages and sold millions of copies all over the world and remains, till date, one of the most influential titles on the subject

Hermann Hesse was born in Calw, Germany, in 1877. As a child, he lived for a time in Basle. He spent a short period studying at a seminary in Germany but soon left to work as a bookseller in Switzerland. After a first volume of verse (1899), Hesse established his reputation with
a series of lyrical romantic novels—Peter Camenzind (1904), Unterm Rad (The Prodigy, 1906), Gertrud (1910) and the short story, Knulp (1915). His humanity, his searching philosophy developed further in such novels as Siddhartha (1922), Der Steppenwolf (1927), Narziss and Goldmund (1930) and Das Glasperlenspiel (The Glass Bead Game, 1943), while his poems and critical writings won him a leading place among contemporary thinkers. Hesse won many literary awards, including the Nobel Prize in 1946.

James Joyce, an influential figure in modernist literature, was born on February 2, 1882, in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in a middle-class Catholic family, the eldest of ten children. During his time at university, he embraced the literary and cultural movements of the time, particularly the Irish Literary Revival. Joyce met Nora Barnacle, a chambermaid from Galway, who became a source of inspiration for Joyce’s works, particularly his semi-autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Joyce’s breakthrough came with the publication of his seminal work, Ulysses, in 1922. James Joyce’s impact on literature and his role in shaping modernist fiction cannot be overstated.

Best known for his masterpiece Don Quixote, Cervantes ingeniously blended humor, social commentary, and profound character development. He immersed himself in humanistic disciplines such as literature, philosophy, and Latin, which laid the foundation for his future literary career. In 1585, Cervantes published his first work, a pastoral novel titled La Galatea, which received moderate acclaim. However, it failed to bring him the recognition and success he desired. In the final years of his life, Cervantes continued to write and publish works, including the sequel to Don Quixote, Second Part of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha. Cervantes’ remarkable journey from humble beginnings to literary greatness serves as an inspiration, highlighting the power of perseverance, resilience, and the enduring impact of
artistic vision.

Fahri Azzat studied law at Bristol University, United Kingdom, graduating in 1997. He was admitted to the Malaysian Bar on 6 August 1999 and has been in practice since. He was admitted to the Syariah Bar of the Federal Territories on 28 June 2018. He is the managing partner of Messrs Fahri, Azzat & Co., a Commissioner for Oaths, a Notary Public, and a member of the Malaysian Bar Council.

His legal practice and repertoire are broad and diverse. He represents and advises across diverse legal areas and regularly takes on public interest cases. He was involved in several important Malaysian landmark decisions relating to freedom of religion, tort, criminal and civil procedure.

He authored the Malaysian Guide to Advocacy (2019, Sweet & Maxwell). He regularly contributes to authoritative practitioner’s texts such as the Malaysian Civil Procedure and Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Malaysian Precedent and Pleadings. He was a founding member of LoyarBurok, a groundbreaking Malaysian legal blawg in 2006. He now writes regularly every Friday on his blog, From the Bar Stool, which he started on 8 October 2020.

Fahri Azzat lives and works in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. He stays with his parents, wife, four children and four cats.

Steven Sy is an English teacher, game designer, and fantasy writer who lives in Singapore, having moved there after growing up in the Philippines. He has carried a love for magic and fantasy with him all his life alongside a fascination with Asian folklore and mythology. The setting of his first novel, Vacant Steppes, was inspired by the Mongolian steppe, and his second one, My Lady Hiraya, draws influences from Filipino mythology. In his free time, he enjoys video games, improv, and tabletop role-playing games.