Guapa, A Novel About LGBT Life in the Arab World

FEATURING SALEEM HADDAD – The debut novel by Arab aid worker Saleem Haddad, entitled Guapa, is a creating a buzz in literary circles, as much for its subject matter as the author’s skill. Haddad writes about a fictional gay Arab man named Rasa in an unnamed Arabic country undergoing an “Arab Spring”-style revolt. Haddad explores Rasa’s trials and tribulations over the course of 24 hours, bringing into focus the multiple struggles facing the LGBT community in the Middle East. The Huffington Post called Guapa a, “remarkable debut novel.”

Find more about the book at www.SaleemHaddad.com.

Saleem Haddad, writer and aid worker, currently working with Saferworld as a Conflict & Security Advisor, specializing in the Middle East and North Africa. Previously he has worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres, Jordan University’s Center for Strategic Studies, and the Overseas Development Institute. His short fiction has appeared in Project Pen and has been shortlisted for a number of prizes. He now joins us from London to discuss his new book Guapa, a Novel about a fictional gay man in an Arab country.