Second Moments Press Release
July 29, 2006
“Magical”, “Powerful” & “Original” MOMENTS
Local publisher to publish Ali Al Saeed’s collection of short stories
MANAMA – July 29th: Described by internationally renowned authors and critics as “magical”, “powerful” and “original”, Ali Al Saeed’s new book, a collection of short stories entitled, Moments, will be released this autumn.
The collection has already received critical acclaim from internationally well-known and established authors, including American author, playwright and artist Shay Youngblood and British poet and novelist Peter Tomlinson.
Al Saeed wrote his first short story, Bow, a story about bullying and nostalgia, back in 1998. Since then, he wrote no less than 40 stories. Half of those will be featured in Moments. The 240-page book will be published in paperback by Al Maseerah Printing & Publishing House.
“It’s very rare to find a genuinely supportive and eager publisher not only in this country, but the region as a whole, and I’m grateful for Mr Nijad Al Atassi, for giving me this opportunity. Al Maseerah is a publishing house with long history and I’m honoured to release Moments under their imprint,” said Al Saeed.
Moments will be launched on September 14th, (14.09.06). A special ceremony will held on the occasion. Other events and appearances for the author are also being scheuled, including a book signing at a leading bookstore in
Bahrain and a reading and talk at a local cultural centre. Details will be announced as soon as they are finalized.
But it’s also worthy to note that Al Saeed had prepared the book from cover to cover all by himself, from the cover design to the page layout. “It was a process Ienjoyed immensely. I kept things simple and used my computer knowledge to create the front cover, based on one of my own photographs,” he explained.
As for the stories, Al Saeed promises the readers that they will be taken on an unusual and fascinating journey. Mixing a variety of genres and styles, the author created a series of stories
Talks are also underway to release a limited edition audio book on CD, containing five short stories taken from the book, and three short poems, all exclusively narrated by the author himself.
The audio book was recorded and produced at Mello Studio, by Bahraini producer and music composer Hashim Al Alawi. “Hopefully we will have a limited edition CD come out in time with the launch of the book,” Al Saeed said.
The national best-selling author is also the recipient of the Bahrain Book of the Year Award.
Audio Book Ready
July 18, 2006
Work on the Audio Book has been completed. I now have the completed recording in CD format, which I was given by Hashim earlier today. The running time as it stands is just a little over 70 minutes.
I know I keep promising, but next week, Hashim and I intend to sort out the technical part of things and begin posting audio clips from each of the stories in the CD right here on this website, for you to enjoy.
A new press release regarding the latest on the Moments printed book will be issues in a few days time.
Watch this space.
Steady Progress
July 9, 2006
Four stories have been completed over the course of three recording sessions so far. One more story and three short poems to go, and all audio will be done. Work on designing the CD and producing the audio is already under way.
The final listing of all recording stories and pomes which will be featured in the CD will be revealed once it is finalized.
I’m also excited about the prospect of publishing the book after a very encouraging and positive meeting with a local publisher. I’m keeping the details wrapped for now until an official announcement is made, hopefully, by next week.
Hashim and I will start posting audio clips of the stories within the next few days. Be the first to hear the previews exclusively here, only on A Collection of Moments.
First Recording Session
June 30, 2006
Originally uploaded by Ali Al Saeed.
I’m happy to report that the first recording session went pretty well.
Hashim and I spent about two hours in the studio recording the first story, Goodbye Humanity, which was a tough one to pull. This is the second story I wrote after I began seriously writing almost eight years ago.
The story deals is probably the one and only post-9/11 story I wrote so far and it tells the story of an Arab whose life turns upside down (again) following a terrorist attack. It is perhaps one of the most emotionally-charged stories from the collection.
I was assured by Hashim that the session was excellent and that, even though it was only my second time behind the microphone, I did well narrating the story. The further I went into the story, the more confident I grew in being more expressive and expansive in narrating it.
Hashim has just completed the first edit of the story. Soon enough, I will start posting audio clips from the recording sessions.
Next in line are Lost, and Bow.
And Thus It Begins…
June 28, 2006
The first press release is out…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bahraini Author Records First Audio Book
MANAMA – June 27th: Writer Ali Al Saeed is set to become one of the very first Bahrainis to record and release an audio book when he goes into the studio tomorrow (June 28).
The 28-year-old, best-selling author of QuixotiQ, the first novel written and published by a Bahraini in English, will record a number of his short stories for a special edition audio book that will coincide with the launch of his upcoming collection of short stories, entitled Moments.
The recording sessions will be held at Mello Studio (http://www.mellostudio.com), supervised by Bahraini music composer and studio owner Hashim Al Alawi. Al Alawi has released two albums featuring original music over the past couple of years.
The audio book will be recorded over five days and will feature a selection of stories from the upcoming book, Al Saeed’s follow-up to his award-winning novel, which was published in 2004.
“Audio books are becoming widely popular around the world and I hope that I can introduce the local reading community to this different form of storytelling,” said Al Saeed, “Hashim is a very professional musician and audio tech/master and I’m confident he will produce a high quality recording. Once the production is completed we will be looking into publishing the CD and distributing it.”
Al Saeed is currently in talks with a local publisher who has shown interest in publishing the collection, with the hope of launching it early autumn. ‘Moments’ will contain 22 short stories ranging in theme, genre and style.
“These are stories that I’ve written over the past eight or so years. I feel very strongly towards them. I’ve grown as a person and as a writer with them. And I hope readers will relate to these different stories and find something magical in them,” Al Saeed said.
Al Saeed was awarded the Bahrain Book of the Year Award for his debut novel and was invited to participate in a number of international literary and cultural gatherings in Europe including the UK and
Sweden.
Al Saeed’s QuixotiQ is available at Booksplus and Al Riwaq Art Gallery. His new book, Models of Success: The Journey, will be launched on Saturday, July 1st. For the latest on Al Saeed’s latest projects log onto www.alialsaeed.com.
For more information on Ali Al Saeed visit www.alialsaeed.com
For more information on Mello Studio visit www.mellostudio.com
Contact:39854720 – ali.alsaeed@yahoo.com
