Sometimes writing is a remedy to the words our mouths fail to produce. For Fatma Al Bannai, writing is her escape; reading was always part of her childhood.
“I come from a family who reads, not writes,” says the 26-year-old from Dubai. “I still remember vividly the stories my father used to make up for bedtime.”
But her true passion lies in stories, she says, whether they come in the form of writing, reading, listening or telling.
The mother of one had to find a way to use the unspoken thoughts in her mind. It was then Al Bannai decided to set up the Untitled Chapters website.
“I took a lot of writing classes, and learnt different styles of crafting,” says the eldest of the five children. “But never did I have people who gave me feedback.”
Since the launch of Untitled Chapters, she has been able to meet people who shared her interests, creating a launch pad for writers in the community.
The inspiration behind Untitled Chapters, she says, is that it represents the untold or untitled stories of Emirati people who haven’t found a platform to give life to their stories.
"There isn't exposure to the young UAE writers," she says. She met the Emirati novelist Shahd Thani, author of Yet Another Emirati Kinda Love Story, who introduced her to writers and bloggers.
“It felt great discovering that there are people who get engrossed in writing.” she says.
Untitled Chapters was born in 2011, and has proved a great meet-and-greet location for female writers of all ages, and allows them to express their thoughts through words. What started as a solo writer’s brainchild today has more than 20 writers from across the Emirates.
To Al Bannai, writing is a solitary pursuit, one that she can only get better at through constructive feedback from seniors.
“In Untitled Chapters, we mentor young writers and pass on whatever knowledge we have,” she says. “We do not claim to be experts, but we do have some strong writers.”
aalhameli@thenational.ae
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Abu Dhabi race card
5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige | Dh110,000 | 1,400m
6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed | Dh180,000 | 1,600m
6.30pm Maiden | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap | Dh80,000 | 1,400m
7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 | 2,400m
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
The%20specs
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Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
