Amal Awad: On the Necessary Hand of an Editor

Amal Awad is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. She has written for Elle, The Guardian, and other publications and held senior editorial roles at a number of trade media publications.She has spoken at schools, universities, and writers’ festivals around Australia, and she facilitates workshops on diversity, multiculturalism, women’s issues, and pop culture.

Amal is the author of eight books, including four novels—Courting Samira, This is How You Get Better, The Things We See in the Light, and Bitter & Sweet—and the nonfiction books The Incidental Muslim, Beyond Veiled Clichés, Fridays With My Folks, and In My Past Life I was Cleopatra. Courting Samira is the first of her books to be published in America. Find her on Instagram.

Amal Awad

In this post, Amal discusses the 16-year publishing process of her new romance novel, Courting Samira, what changed about the story in that time, and more!

Name: Amal Awad
Literary agent: Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown: HarperVia
Book title: Courting Samira
Publisher: HarperVia
Release date: November 7, 2023
Genre/category: Romance
Previous titles: This is my first book to be published in the U.S. by a U.S. publisher but I have written eight books; Nonfiction: The Incidental Muslim, Beyond Veiled Cliches, Fridays with My Folks, and In My Past Life I was Cleopatra; Fiction: This Is How You Get Better, The Things We See in the Light, and Bitter & Sweet
Elevator pitch: For 27-year old Samira, navigating the everyday challenges of adult life is hard enough. But add in awkward suitor visits in your parents’ living room in lieu of an actual dating life and who says courtship is obsolete?

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What prompted you to write this book?

I was an avid reader of chick-lit books in my 20s, and when I read Watermelon by Marian Keyes, I realized that sometimes they could truly go deep while still being hilarious and romantic. I wanted to know what a chick-lit book with an Arab-Muslim heroine I could relate to would look like. So, I began writing it. There was a gap in the market; it was long before diversity was a buzz word. It was hard to convince the industry that there was a market for this, and I ultimately self-published years after I began the first draft.

How long did it take to go from idea to publication?

It has been a very long journey, one that began around 16 years ago. I started writing the book during a period of heartbreak. I had an editor at a major house interested in the book, but because I didn’t have a full first draft, she told me to come back when I had completed one. I went through a few drafts, and as a new writer, I was really trying to find my way into the story. I definitely needed the steady hand of an editor.

I struggled to get publishers to take the manuscript because Samira was not a rebel who was at odds with her culture. They wanted Bend It Like Beckham with an Arab-Muslim woman. I got various other feedback and finally a smaller house took it on, but then the global financial crisis hit and I lost the deal. I abandoned it for a time, then a couple of people encouraged me to self-publish it. By that point, I had gone through some major changes, so I went back to the manuscript with fresh eyes and a more mature perspective. It did quite well as a self-published book; I had great media coverage and heard from readers around the world.

And did the idea change during the process?

Originally Samira was Amira and she was a lot more submissive and concerned with how people saw her. The novel ultimately went through multiple drafts over a few years, and this gave me the opportunity to really finesse the story and Samira’s journey. I would say the essence of Samira remained constant—she is someone who is still getting to know herself, and what she truly wants. But I also knew she has a lot more strength and self-worth, so I could make the necessary adjustments without completely changing the course of her journey.

Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?

Yes, perhaps the most interesting thing was revisiting the book years later when my Australian publisher picked it up. I had a much better understanding of story fundamentals and how characters inform the course of events, but it’s the writer’s job to dramatize it. This is my way of saying I learned that you really can’t just sink into the character’s head; you have to give them plenty to do, choices to make, and in a way, really challenge them.

Also: Be careful of dating your stories. The very earliest drafts had the characters chatting to each other on MSN!

Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?

This was my first foray into fiction as an adult, and it was surprising to me how real and true the characters were to me and how I knew I could not force them to behave in ways they wouldn’t. I never know my endings when I start writing, and I really don’t decide them—the characters and their choices in what I put them in do.

What do you hope readers will get out of your book?

A sense of joy and innocence, of loving love in all its forms. I hope people recognize the power of having genuine interests that don’t involve being online. I love that Samira is an avid reader and can recite BBC series. She has a very full life, and a spiritual strength that grounds her and gives her a sense of knowing. I hope people will finish the story with an appreciation for stories that offer the possibility and tenderness of true love.

If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?

Take your time and be prepared to write then rewrite, and to write from character. As the writer, you are getting to know your characters, their unique circumstances, what they think they want, and what they really need. Get to know your characters and let them show you how they see the world then challenge them.

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