Sharjah: The first Emirati publishing house dedicated to publishing science fiction and fantasy stories targeting young people has been launched in Sharjah.
Noura Al No’man, Emirati children’s book writer and novelist, has launched the publishing house ‘Makhtouta 5229’, coinciding with 2016 being celebrated as the Year of Reading in the UAE.
Makhtouta, which means ‘manuscript’, aims to publish and translate novels, stories, and books based on science fiction, historical myths and fairytales, with suspense, paranormal mystery and supernatural phenomena, to meet the Arabic library’s need for these genres. It aims to attract adolescents and young people to read and ignite their passion and desire to discover.
Al No’man said: “Our decision to establish the Makhtouta 5229 aligns with 2016 being celebrated as the Year of Reading in the UAE. The launch of the new publishing house also comes in light of Sharjah’s outstanding stature in the publishing industry.”
She added: “We are delighted to launch this publishing house, which will introduce to adolescent and young readers literary works that enrich their minds, develop their imagination and ignite their souls to love exploration, and have the desire to learn about the unknown, especially in the field of science fiction.”
