Meet Hadil DIAF , Fragment Author

Poetically I’m a lost soul homesick for a place I’ve never known.

Realistically, I’m a 19-year old Algerian author, one of the first to publish in English in Algeria, starting with my first book "Whispers of the Night", which was published back in 2017. An avid reader with a growing passion for words and letters.

 I am also an electrical engineering student at the National Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, IGEE ex-Inelec and Alumna of TechGirls Program , I aspire to become a leader in the microelectronics industry and empower the presence of women in STEM fields, especially engineering.

I like to believe that I’m a global citizen, and I never have a correct answer for the “where are you from” question; My origins are from Tizi-Ouzou, but I was born and raised in Laghouat, I spent 17 years of life there and then studies led me to Boumerdes, where I’ve been living now for over two years.

                                              

Writing experience, how did you start and why?

The first time I discovered writing was when I was about 8 years old, we were asked to write a small poem in Arabic. I was actually worried to mess it up and the sole idea of writing something terrified me. But then, I liked the process and the outcome, I loved how a combination of words can actually make something unique and symphonic. That made me love reading even more.

At first, I used to read short stories and fairytales and then I moved to reading texts that belonged to Gibran, even though I didn’t understand much back then, I liked the sound words made in their combination. That’s where I wanted to become a writer, and the first real piece of writing I made was a series of short fantasy stories I wrote which I regret throwing away now, as they were my first entrance into the words’ world.

After that, I turned into small poems (they weren’t actually poems but they rhymed and had verse) both in Arabic and French, when I was 10, I thankfully still have the notebook that gathered them all. I continued writing poems and drafts in English and Arabic, until the age of 13 where I tempted to first write in English, and that’s where the real journey started.

I managed to write 2 English books in 2015 and share them online, the first was “Three Words in Humanity”, a small book in which the younger me tried to give her message to humanity, and the other, a more mature one, was a set of drafts and texts I wrote when the shadow of depression first paid me a visit, they’re both still online for those who want to check what my writings looked like 4 years ago.

But I only became “officially” a writer, when I published my book, “Whispers of the Night”, which is also a set of poems and drafts, discussing and illustrating different sides of the human heart and mind. The irony is that the entire book was written when I was trying to defeat the writer’s block syndrome, from which I’ve been suffering for 3 years now.

Every poem in there, every text and short story was an attempt to put an end to it.  I’m still trying to defeat it, but I’m convinced now that there is no permanent cure for it other than writing and not waiting for it to miraculously disappear.

What kind of challenges did you overcome as a writer?

I didn’t really face any specific challenges related to being an active woman in Algeria, whether it was in my engineering studies, social activities or my beginning as an author.

The only challenges I had were finding a publisher that accepts English manuscripts, and the financial support to pay the publishing fees, with both of my works.

In addition to getting people to know about my books and build a small fanbase, which is mainly due to the media being biased towards Arabic writings and writers, and having the majority of Algerians prefer Arabic to English in their readings. We do have a large English reading community in Algeria, but it is still small compared to the Arabic reading community, which can be easily noticed on social media groups and the book-related pages.

Tell us  about Fragments

“Fragments” is a work I’m very proud of. It is a mature work, with every word carefully sortied out to match a specific message and target. I gave in everything I’ve had, and poured all of my emotions and brains into it. The poems and drafts it consists of, discuss the emotional growth phases I’ve gone through, phases I believe everyone goes through at a certain point in life.

First, there was the breaking, the falling and the drowning. Then, there was the loving, the accepting and the healing. And last, there was the acceptance of the flaws and the change that has occurred, a change I had a lot of difficulty accepting during the breaking phase.

Where can we find it ?

It will be available at SILA, the International Book Fair, which will take place in Algiers, from October 30^th ,2019 to  November 9^th,2019. You can find it at the Adlis Publishing corner, further details will be revealed when the exact place and Haul are confirmed.

Last word to Algerian writers J 

The message I would like to address to every writers who wishes to leave a printed version of themselves is to unleash what they have to say on paper, and go for the next step: publishing!

There are many new publishings that do encourage new authors with suitable prices and a good design service, all you have to do is ask for guidance and choose the one that suits you best.

And remember, writing not only shares your thoughts and messages to people around the world, but also allows you to immortalize a piece of you for the next generations to come.