Once again historical novels return to the forefront of the literary scene.  Historical novels have had many supporters and opponents throughout time. Some readers think that we need to revisit history and write about it while others think that it’s its better to focus on our contemporary life. Is writing about our current reality considered as a history writing?..We will try to find an answer to this question in this symposium. We will discuss many novels most notably “The Papers of Shimon the Egyptian ” and “Demiana’s promise” with Dr. Osama Sl Shazali. This will be on Friday, July 12 at 7 pm at the Jesuit Cultural Center.

About Dr. Osama al-Shazali:

Dr. Osama Abd al-Raouf al-Shazali, Egyptian doctor, writer and novelist, born in 1974. He received his doctorate in orthopaedics from Ain Shams University in 2007. He also received a fracture treatment fellowship from Germany in 2005. He is currently a Professor of Orthopedics at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. He served as the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Medical Fellowship as well as the Director-General of the National Training Institute for three years. He is a pioneer of foot and ankle surgery in Egypt and the Arab world. Eighteen of his scientific papers were published internationally and his book on surgery was  published by a German publishing house in 2011. He works as an editor for a number of international scientific journals. He has a great interest in literature and history and, besides his academic work, he teaches history of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, as well as at the University of Barcelona. He wrote short stories and articles for a number of newspapers and gave numerous lectures on literature and history as well. His book titled “A Journey to Yajuj and Majuj ” was published in 2012.

His first novel “The Papers of Shimon the Egyptian” was a massive success and topped the bestseller lists for over two years. It was also considered the most read Arab book in 2022 according to goodreads. “Demiana’s promise” is his second novel.

About Dr. Sarah kwaisy:

Academic researcher specialising in cultural studies and women’s affairs, with a doctorate in modern literary criticism. She has written articles and stories in a number of newspapers. She has also given a number of lectures in the field of criticism and literature, discussed the creative works of a large number of modern writers, and trained writers on creative types of writing.

Her book was published in 2018, and currently, she is preparing to release new books.

Attendance is free after completing the attached form.

Translated by Mariam Metwali