IWA Member News...March-April 2008

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Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) News:

IWA 4^th Annual Poetry Contest – is in full swing! This year’s theme is "iman." Deadline for submissions will be May 15, 2008, Insha Allah. Qualifying poems will be posted on the IWA website for all to read.  Vote for your favorite poem in our online poll.  Details to follow, so stay tuned. 

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 new IWA blog has been launched. The IWA Board and members thank our Web Administrator, Sister Amel S. Abdullah, for all of her hard work and creativity in setting up this new interactive blog.

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!  Read the April issue here, and 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

Sister Nazaahah A. Amin – Completed her second children’s book, Khalidah’s Khimar, and debuted it at the Women’s Committee of Masjid As-Saffat's 25th Annual Women's Conference.

Brother Irving Karchmar – author of Master of the Jinn:  A Sufi Novel

Master of the Jinn is now being translated into Urdu.  If you would like to read Master of the Jinn in Urdu, click here.

If you want to compare it to the original English, email Brother Irving at Irvingk57@aol.com. He will send you the e-book of Master of the Jinn. If you have any linguistic suggestions, let him know and he will pass your feedback on to Brother Nadeem who is coordinating this work. Also, Alhamdulillah, Master of the Jinn has been translated into the Spanish language. It is entitled El Maestro de los Jinn. Brother Irving is actively seeking publishers in Spanish-speaking countries.

Finally, Brother Irving was interviewed by The Pakistani Spectator website. Here is a link to the interview. 

Sister Zabrina Abu Bakar - (Busy, busy – as usual!)

Sis Zabrina is in the midst of writing her second book: Life is an Open Secret – You, Me, and We. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-May. She is negotiating with KL Tower for sponsorship of the book launch, scheduled for mid-July. 

A. Roselle (Hibiscus) manufacturer offered her recipes using Roselle as the special ingredients to be made in a cookbook; Sis Zabrina is currently waiting for selection of final recipes. 

Life is an Open Secret – Think About It

Sis Zabrina is preparing a proposal to include Life is an Open Secret – Think About It as one of the university’s graduation packs for their graduates; she is targeting three universities for now. 

The book has hit the bestseller list for MPH chain of bookstores!

Dar us Salaam, Malaysia, has signed with Wise Words Publishing to carry its books in their stores.

Sis Zabrina published the following in March/April:

Are You a Dot or Dot-Dot-Dot?

Two Best Friends and Forgiveness

Make a Choice- Coffee or Mug

From Mulberry Leaf to Silk Gown - The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper, USA. Volume 1, No. 21, p. 19

The Ignorant Offender

I am Sorry Is All What It Takes

Que Sera Sera - The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper, USA. Volume 1, No. 20, p. 19

The Hat or the Head

The Story of a Farmer and His Watermelon

Dreaming of Summer

Ice Cubes and Candles - The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper, USA, Volume 1, No. 19, p. 19

Back to Basic

Ice Cubes and Candles

Isn't This What We Want to Call Love? - The Muslim Woman Magazine, South Africa, 1^st March 2008, Volume 9, Edition 3: pg 20-21: Website under Development

Pounce or Pause? - The Tri-State Muslim Newspaper, USA, Volume 1, No. 18, P. 19

Sister Saaleha Bhamjee – Her book, The Beautiful Names was released in March. She also “survived” her first radio interview on Channel Islam International.

Linda D. Delgado (Sister Widad) – Muslim Writer’s Publishing (MWP) publisher and award-winning author, continues to publish articles on her blog, Islamic Fiction Books.

Sis Widad has also created another e-group which is now open for membership. The purpose of this e-group is to promote Islamic Fiction; the group members will be reading, discussing, and reviewing published Islamic Fiction books. This effort is another component of Sis Widad’s 7+ year project to promote Islamic Fiction literature.  

Sister Widad’s publishing business, Muslim Writer’s Publishing (MWP), has published its second Islamic Fiction novel for Muslim teens.  This book is authored by Maryam Mahmoodian and is entitled Muslim Teens in Pitfalls and Pranks. This is the first book in a planned book series to include the seven teen characters introduced in this first book just published in April, 2008. 

Sis Widad continues to work on the fiqh-based Grandma & Hijab-Ez color/story/activity book with her illustrator and IWA member, Sister Shirley Gavin.

Sister “Umm Junayd” – An-Najm Publishers:

An-Najm Publishers now has a blog and will be showcasing writers of fiction and poetry. 

Sister Christine (Amina) Benlafquih -

Recently started posting articles to Suite 101. This link takes you to her profile which has a list of her articles. 

She also continues to work on her anthology project, Open Letters, Open Hearts, that will be published by An-Najm Publishers, London, UK. 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.

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.

She also had a poem accepted by Damazine, and two poems accepted for the June issue of Mezzo Cammin. One of her other poems appeared in Seasons, a journal of the Zaytuna Institute. She also had a sonnet featured on Prairie Home Companion as a competition finalist.     

She also attended the April Muslim Educational Trust (MET) book fair.

S. E. Jihad Levine (Sister Safiyyah) – has started a children’s library at her masjid’s Al-Huda Islamic Sunday School. She continues to blog at Shaalom2Salaam and is busy working on various small writing projects. 

Sister Jamilah Kolocotronis - Participated in the Midwest Writers Guild Second Annual Book Fair in Evansville, Indiana, along with about 40 other authors.  She also participated in the March ISNA Education Conference in Chicago.  She reports that the need for Islamic Fiction was a strong topic of discussion at this year's conference.

Sister Amel S. Abdullah – IWA Web Administrator, has redesigned the IWA website, and added new resources to it. She has also added new resources to her own blog for Muslim writers. 

She completed the editing of Ripples, by Jamilah Kolocotronis and began editing The Size of a Mustard Seed, by Umm Juwayrriyah.  Both books are projects of Muslim Writers Publishing. Sis Amel is also in negotiations to edit three more books in different genres.

She Amel has agreed with Muslim Writers Publishing to develop a teacher study guide for Star Writers, by Amatullah Al-Marwani.

Sis Amel continues to work on dawah projects for Sh. Yusuf Estes. This included writing motivation material for a new women's website and a brochure for non-Muslims who request copies of the Qur'an.

She has also started a blog that will list scholarships for Muslim students.

Sis Amel has entered into agreement with IslamOnline.net to write several articles on various issues for their health, science, and technology departments. Further, she has been writing, editing, translating, and conducting research for miscellaneous clients.  She also started work on a community newsletter for a masjid located in Washington state.

Lastly, Islamic Writers Alliance member Deborah McNichol has graduated from law school.  She now looks forward to the challenge of bar exam!  Mabrook, Sister Deb!

Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) has 79 members.

Report prepared by S. E. Jihad Levine
IWA Secretary

05/13/08