In 1998, I received a small, touching dedication from my father on the first page of a book titled "Literature and the Child." In it, he wrote his wish that I would one day achieve greatness in the field of children's literature. At the time, I never imagined how those simple words would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Twenty years later, specifically in 2018, and after years of working in the publishing field, I decided to start my own project and establish a publishing house called Alia.

In the first few months, I longed to hear Alia's voice, but the silence was overwhelming. At the same time, my father was seriously ill. I left everything behind and dedicated my time to being by his side during his hospitalization. During that time, I met two wonderful nurses from outside Cairo. Looking for a way to repay them, I thought they might help me deliver books to different parts of the country. But even then, nothing changed.

Then, one morning, after my father had returned home and was feeling better, I woke up to find my Facebook account flooded with notifications. I thought it had been hacked, but it hadn't—it was all book orders.

This was the real birth of Dar Alia.

From there, Alia began to grow. When the dedication story resurfaced, this time the tables had turned. I had finished writing a new script and was about to send it to the illustrator when my father's health deteriorated again. I was in Copenhagen and had to wait three days for the PCR test result so I could travel to him. Sadly, he passed away before I arrived.

In those painful moments, the phrase “To those for whom we deserve to travel far” came to my mind. It was my dedication to him—a final farewell and gratitude. A year later, this book, dedicated to his spirit, won the prestigious Etisalat Award for Children’s Literature.

The award ceremony was held in Sharjah, UAE. The following year, another Alia book received a new award, also from Sharjah. From two small dedications—one from my father to me, and one from me to him—the heart of Alia's publishing house was born.

Today, after publishing more than 70 books and reaching over 10,000 children in Egypt, we begin our new chapter in the UAE. With the same dream that started it all:

To bring back the joy of reading in Arabic, and to create books that resonate with children's hearts.

Welcome to Alia Publishing House.