|
IWA
Member News...February 2008
For
more news, check out our
News Archives.
Islamic Writers Alliance
(IWA)
News:
501c3 – The IWA
is applying for incorporation as a private non profit foundation
which supports and promotes literacy, and will also be filing for
non profit tax exemption. We ask for your dua as the Board of
Directors works on this important project in 2008.
Short-Fiction Contest
– The IWA Board voted to add a short-fiction contest to our
schedule of events for 2008. Stay tuned for details!
IWA Blog – The IWA
will be adding a blog to our website to enhance interactivity.
Sister
Amel, our Web Administrator, is
currently working very hard to set up the blog.
IWA 2007 Annual Book
Award - The IWA Board of Directors is pleased to
announce that Al-Hijra School (Canada) has been selected to receive
the IWA 2007 Annual Book Award of $300 for purchase of books for the
school's library.
Al-Hijra School's selection for this Award was
based on its dedication to providing quality reading literature to
students and its support from the School Board, Teaching Staff and
Administration and students for Muslim authors as demonstrated by
the completed Teacher Study Guide-Student Field Test project for
Islamic fiction.
IWA Catalog -
Comprehensive listing of books written by or including the work
of IWA members! Children's books, English Language Islamic Fiction
for adults, teens, youth, and children, inspirational non-fiction,
poetry, magazines, CDs … the IWA Catalog has something for
everyone. Download it
here.
IWA Islamic Ink –
Islamic Writer’s Alliance Online Magazine now published four times a
year! Visit
this page to subscribe.
IWA Website - Have
a look around our site
www.islamicwritersalliance.net -
check out the selections in our member
showcases, browse through the
bookstore, read a bit about
IWA history or dig in depth with
our current and
past
news pages, and check out
our
members. Our Web Administrator,
Sister
Amel, continues to add content and
enhance our site on a regular basis. Be sure to return often to see
what’s new!
Join the Islamic Writer’s
Alliance (IWA) – go to:
www.islamicwritersalliance.net/join.html
Membership is open to both sisters and
brothers!
IWA Member News
and Accomplishments
Brother
Irving Karchmar – author of
Master of the Jinn: A Sufi Novel.
A book launching party and reading for Sang Raja Jin was held in
Indonesia on February 16, 2008. Five main speakers gave talks about
various aspects of Sang Raja Jin (1) Nuruddin Asyhadie, noted
Indonesian poet, (2) Anton Kurnia, author and literary critic, (3)
Siska Widyawaty, journalist with JIJI Press, (4) Meithya Rose
Prasetya, yoga practioner and translator of mystical books, and (5)
Tri Wibowo, translator of Sang Raja Jin.
Sister
Zabrina Abu Bakar -
Love Sums It All,
www.dailymuslims.com. 26th
February 2008
Live an Extraordinary Life!,
www.suhaibwebb.com. 25th
February 2008
Beginning of a New Column:
Life Storyteller by Sis Zabrina,
www.suhaibwebb.com 25th
February 2008
A King Who Claimed His Portion,
The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper,
USA. 15th February 2008 (Volume 1, No 17: pg 19)
Love Sums It All,
www.readingislam.com. 14th
February 2008
The Story of a Girl and The Man in Orange,
www.shawuniversitymosque.org. 5th
February 2008
The Story of the Three Knots,
www.islamnewsroom.com. 2nd
February 2008
Just 1 over 86400,
The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper,
USA. 1st February 2008 (Volume 1, No 16: pg 19)
Who Are Your Other Pieces?, The Muslim Woman
Magazine, South Africa, 1st February 2008 (Volume 9,
Edition 2: pg 4-6: Website under Development )
The Secret of Wealth Is….,
www.shawuniversitymosque.org. 1st
February 2008
Activities
a)
Carrefour Hypermarket (like
Wal-Mart) has signed an agreement with Wise Words Publishing to
carry
Life is an Open Secret and other
books (future) in all its stores nationwide. Carrefour is a French
based hypermarket and is highly successful in Malaysia. All books
are scheduled to be delivered early next month.
b) Wise Words Publishing has just signed an agreement with a book
distributor covering the area of East Coast, Malaysia. This book
distributor supplies to bookstores, libraries and schools, and is
highly active in doing book promotions. The agreement is not limited
to book supplies but also includes book signings, talks, and
lectures.
c)
Life is an Open Secret - Malaysian
Language is currently at the layout designer. It is scheduled to be
launched by mid-March, just in time for the International Book Fair,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
d)
Imam Suhaib Webb has given Sis
Zabrina a column on his website called Life Storyteller.
e) This month,
Life Storyteller blog has invited
and featured one Muslim surgeon and one Muslim painter as guests.
You can see their posts here:
The Story of an Assaulted Central Basin and
The Story of a Slapped Canvas.
Sister
Saaleha Bhamjee – had a short story
accepted on the online literary journal LitNet. Her book,
The Beautiful Names was also
released in March.
Linda D. Delgado (Sister Widad) –
Muslim Writer’s Publishing (MWP)
publisher and author, published Another Twist for Muslim Publishing
on her blog,
Islamic Fiction Books.
Sister Widad’s publishing business, Muslim
Writers Publishing (MWP) published Sister
Saaleha Bhamjee’s new color
illustrated poetry book,
The Beautiful Names. It was
released in March for sale to the public. MWP is very pleased to
have successfully designed, published, and printed two color
illustrated books for two talented writers. Publishing color
illustrated books is a new milestone for her publishing business and
she thoroughly enjoyed the new challenges this genre of book posed.
MWP also plans to have
Jamilah Kolocotronis' fourth book
in her
Echoes series,
Ripples, ready for release in
March, Insha Allah.
Sis Widad also assisted four MWP authors
with getting their press releases ready for their books that were
just published in January and February. She also spent considerable
time in getting marketing implemented for the books.
She worked on reviewing and revising draft
Articles of Incorporation for the IWA which are being used to
complete the draft application for IRS non profit ID and status. The
draft documents will be sent to an attorney for review before
finalizing the documents for filing.
Sis Widad responded to a request from
Illume Magazine to provide written
comments regarding what if anything makes American Muslims unique,
or issues and concerns they have that are unique. Part of the focus
has to do with American Muslim reverts. The information may be used
in future articles about the American Muslim identity.
Sister “Umm Junayd” –
An-Najm Publishers:
Will have two articles published in the
upcoming issue of
SISTERS: One Death, 2 Callings,
and a home schooling article.
An-Najm Publishers now has a
blog and will be showcasing writers
of fiction and poetry. Sister
Corey Habbas, author of
The Runaway Scarf, will be featured
in March.
Sister Saba Negash – had her story, Belief
Comes, Even to the Hearts of Children, published on the IWA website,
Member Showcase. Sister Saba also
maintains a blog at
Family Ship Stories.
Sister
Fawzia Gilani-Williams – had her
story, Queen Agarbati's Secret published in
Skipping Stones Magazine, March
2008. Her talented daughter, Muslimah, illustrated the magazine’s
cover.
Sister Tiel Aisha Ansari – had her first
poetry collection, Knocking from Inside published by
Ecstatic Exchange. The book is
available at
Lulu.com. Ecstatic Exchange is the
poetry imprint of poet and scholar Sidi
Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore.
S. E. Jihad Levine (Sister Safiyyah)
– has
started a children’s library at her
masjid’s Al-Huda Islamic Sunday School. She submitted a “letter”
for the
Open Letters, Open Hearts
anthology project, and is currently busy writing another anthology
submission.
Sister
Christine (Amina) Benlafquih -
She recently started posting articles to
Suite 101. This
link
takes you to her profile which has a list of her articles. She
also recently
reviewed Sister
Corey Habbas’ book,
The Runaway Scarf.
She also continues to work
on her anthology project,
Open Letters, Open Hearts,
that will be published by
An-Najm Publishers, London, UK.
The deadline for submissions has been extended to the end of
February 2008.
About the Book
The anthology-style
Open Letters, Open Hearts
will feature heartfelt letters written by Muslims who appeal to
their family, friends and others to open their hearts and minds to
the message of Islam.
Most of us have been touched and inspired by an
emotional piece of writing. Something as simple as a greeting card
or as lengthy as a novel can successfully evoke emotion in a reader.
Whether raw and direct, or gentle and persuasive, the power of the
written word can not be denied.
Muslims worldwide are invited to use this power
and compose open letters which address the people and unique
circumstances in their own lives from an Islamic perspective.
Whether differences need to be solved, religious issues explained,
or concern expressed about someone’s harmful life choices, a letter
allows the writer to convey sincerity and present Islamic values and
teachings in a positive, relevant light.
Although Muslims naturally wish for others to
recognize the truth of Islam, one of the main objectives of
Open Letters, Open Hearts is
to appeal to the emotional ties that connect us to family, friends
and humanity in general. It is hoped that people of all faiths will
find common ground with Muslims through the personal stories and
situations revealed in the letters. Inshaa’ Allah, this
connection will help open the door to better understanding of
Muslims and Islam’s true teachings.
The
Open Letters, Open Hearts
project was born of the editor’s desire to meet her personal
da’wah obligation and help her non-Muslim family better
understand her decision to embrace Islam. All Muslims have a
religious duty to give da'wah (invite others to Islam through
teaching or example of good actions). However, many Muslims
are uncomfortable doing so, either due to inhibition or because
family and friends aren’t open to such discussion.
Da’wah is not only directed at
non-Muslims. Born-Muslims often find themselves dealing with family
and friends who either don’t practice the religion at all, or
neglect certain aspects of it.
Submitting an open letter to the anthology –
and inshaa`Allah directly to the person(s) to whom it is
addressed – offers a positive step towards meeting our da’wah
obligation.
Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) has 79 members.
Report prepared by
S. E. Jihad Levine
IWA Secretary
03/15/08 |
The
Islamic Writers Alliance