Ahmed Khaled Tawfik
| Ahmed Khaled Tawfik أحمد خالد توفيق | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Farraag June 1962 (age 55) Tanta, Egypt |
| Occupation | Novelist, author & poet. Former professor of medicine at Tanta University, Egypt. |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Genre | Horror, Drama & Comedy |
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Farraag (Arabic: أحمد خالد توفيق) (born June 1962) is an Egyptian author and a doctor,[1] also known as Ahmed Khaled Tawfik or Ahmed Khaled Towfik who has written more than 200 paperbacks. He is the first contemporary Arab writer of horror and science fiction and the first Arab writer to explore the medical thriller genre.[2][3][4]
Tawfik is considered by many to be one of the most influential writers of their time. His legacy has influenced thousands of Arab authors.[2]
Biography
Born in June 1962 in the northern Egyptian city of Tanta,[5][3] Tawfik graduated from Tanta University's medical school in 1985.[5] He attained a PhD in 1997.[4] In 1992, he joined the Modern Arab Association publishing company and began writing his first series of novels the following year.[6] In January 1993, he published the first installment in his horror/thriller series Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa (Arabic: ما وراء الطبيعة) which translates to The Supernatural.[4][6] He also writes periodical articles for journals and web-based magazines such as El Destoor and Rewayty.[7] His writing style has appealed to both Egyptian and broader Arabic-speaking audiences, gaining him popularity in Egypt and the Middle East.[7]
Tawfik's novels typically feature all Egyptian characters and are set both in Egypt and around the world. Some of his characters are semi-autobiographical. Tawfik draws from personal experiences in their creation; fans consider him their "godfather" and identify him most closely with his character, Refaat Ismael, who was featured in the Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa series.[7] His book Utopia may even reflect Egypt as it is becoming, with rich and poor and no middle-class.[8]
Characters
Refaat Ismael
Refaat Ismael is the main character of Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa. He is a retired doctor who leads a life, chock-full of paranormal experiences. A bachelor with a sarcastic attitude, this character is widely loved by fans of Egyptian pocket novels. Many of Tawfik's fans refer to the author as Refaat Ismail, because they note the similarities between author and character.
Alaa abdel Azeem
Alaa abdel Azeem is the main character of the Safari. He's a young, Egyptian physician who works for a fictitious, medical establishment named Safari, with branches in African countries. Safari's sole purpose is to hunt diseases. The character is married to Bernadette Jones, a Canadian pediatrician. This character is witty, nervous, not the greatest physician but a quick study who enjoys performing surgeries.
Abeer abdel Rahman
Abeer abdel Rahman is the main character of the Fantazia series. She's a simple, Egyptian housewife with average looks, but well read. She marries a handsome, computer programmer, Sherif, who has invented DG-2 (Dream Generator 2), a high tech device that can materialize preexisting human knowledge into dreams. With the device, Abeer has the chance to participate in any story she knows and live with any character- (Superman, Batman, Adham Sabri).
Works
He began writing his stories when he was ten years old and he's written more than 500 books.[2] His series Fantasia was the first of its kind; a plot that presents famous literary works to the youth, through an interactive presentation. "Fantasia" presented the young Arab reader to a wide spectrum of topics framing Arthur Conan Doyle and Sikhism, to Dostoevsky and the Cosa Nostra.
Other works include:
- An Arabic translation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club.[9]
- Utopia is about Egyptian people living in a dystopian and utopian society, separated by walls. It's a fictional, political-minded novel, published by Merit, translated into English by Chip Rosetti and chosen to become a major motion picture, with a scheduled release date of 2017.[10][3]
- Al-Singa (The Knife) is a politically-flavored novel published by Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing.[11]
- Just Like Icarus is a fictional political-minded novel, published by Dar El Shorouq.[12]
- Ahmad Khaled also writes periodical articles for Al Dostoor.
- Rewayat (Egyptian pocket novels)[13]
See also
References
- ↑ "BQFP signs up Ahmed Khaled Taufiq's dystopian novel 'utopia'". The Tanjara. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- 1 2 3 Yaqoob, Tahira (March 16, 2012). "Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Egypt's doctor of escapism". The National.
- 1 2 3 Byrnes, Sholto (September 17, 2011). "Utopia, By Ahmed Khaled Towfik". Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Utopia by Ahmed Khaled Tawfik is second best". Ahram Online. February 15, 2012.
- 1 2 Yaqoob, Tahira (March 16, 2012). "Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Egypt's doctor of escapism". Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- 1 2 "Ahmed Khaled Tawfik / Abu Dhabi International Book Fair". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 3 "Dr. Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Author Page". Retrieved 2011-02-13.
- ↑ Deyaa’, Nada (May 30, 2016). "Is Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s Utopia coming true?". Daily News Egypt.
- ↑ Obenson, Tambay (May 13, 2015). "Film Adaptation of Bestselling Egyptian Apocalyptic Novel, ‘Utopia,’ in Development". Indie Wire.
- ↑ Ahmed Khaled Towfik. Al-Singa (The Knife). Bloomsbury Academic; 25 October 2013. ISBN 978-99921-95-74-1.
- ↑ "Just Like Icarus مثل إيكاروس (Arabic) Paperback – 2015". Amazon.
- ↑ "Listopia Best of Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq". Goodreads.
External links
- Dr. Ahmad at The World of Stories (in Arabic)
- Dr. Ahmad at Rewayat.com (in Arabic)
- Ahmed Khaled Tawfik Facebook page