Sara al-Jarwan

Sara al-Jarwan was born in Ajman Emirate, UAE, in 1969. She started writing at a young age, and while a soldier in the UAE army, wrote a diary- Yawmiyaat Mujannada (Diary of a Recruit) and a play on the role of women in the army. She later became editor of the armed forces magazine Dara‘ Al-Watan. She has four novels – Shajan Bint Al-Qadar Al-Hazeen (The melancholy daughter with a sad destiny) 1992, reputedly the first novel by a UAE woman author; Risa’il ila Al-Sultan (Letters to the Sultan), 2003; Turous ’Ila Moulay Al-Sultan, Al-Kitab Al-Awwal (Letters to My Lord The Sultan, Part One) in 2009, which brought her acclaim and recognition in the wider Arab world; and in 2011 Udhraa’ wa Wali wa Saahir (A Virgin, a Saint and a Magician) She also has a collection of short stories Ayqounat Al-Hilm (The Dream’s Icon) 2003, and a collection of Emirati folk tales – in both classical Arabic and Emirati dialect.