'I Write To Defend My Memory Against Oblivion'

The Iraqi writer Shahad Al Rawi received international acclaim for her debut novel The Baghdad Clock. Now she’s bringing new characters to life with her second work of fiction

- Iain Akerman

If any year was Shahad Al Rawi’s, 2018 was that year. The Iraqi writer’s debut novel, The Baghdad Clock, was translated into English, shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and won the First Book Award at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It was, she says, a “beautiful year in every sense of the word”.

It was 2018’s “three happy, positive and important events” that threw Shahad into the global spotlight, garnering her literary recognition and ensuring the continuation of her writing career. Now she is in the midst of writing her second novel and is nearing completion of her PhD. All while balancing the demands of literary festivals, her publisher, and a growing number of readers worldwide.

“I hope that my second novel will be completed this year,” says Shahad, who was born in Baghdad and now lives in Dubai. “My literary agent has been accompanying me stepby-step and asking me where I have reached in the writing. Oneworld [the publisher] is waiting for me to finish as soon as possible and readers frequently ask me the same thing whenever I meet them. All this makes me feel guilty whenever I’m away from my writing desk. I will do my best to accomplish my second novel.