Layla AlAmmar – author of Silence is a Sense, a novel about the fundamental need for human connection, written from the viewpoint of a Syrian refugee
Layla AlAmmar is the author of Silence is a Sense, a profound and life-affirming novel that follows a mute Syrian refugee grappling with her experiences during the Syrian Civil War, and as a refugee traveling through Europe as she is gradually and unwillingly drawn into the lives of her neighbors.
“With gut-punching clarity, AlAmmar unpacks the complicated identity of a refugee discovering that safety is not what it seems, as she learns to find her voice in a new home.” – Booklist
Layla AlAmmar is a Kuwaiti-American writer and student of Arab literature, delivering a complex and fluid book about memory, revolution, loss, and safety. AlAmmar’s debut novel, The Pact We Made, was published in 2019. She is currently pursuing a PhD on the intersection of Arab women’s fiction and literary trauma theory.
In this episode, we discuss her writing process, and:
- Changing your medium to get un-stuck
- Writing as a repository for thoughts and feelings
- The difficulty in trying to take writing advice
- And more
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This Week’s Writing Prompt
This week’s writing prompt: Take a pivotal scene in your WIP, or a scene that is giving you trouble, and try to rewrite it in several different ways. For example: straight, a dream or nightmare, someone relaying the scene to another person in a letter, or as a hallucination.
Explore Womxn Authors
In this episode, they recommended these womxn writers:
- Adania Shibli, author of Minor Detail
- Han Kang, author of The Vegetarian
Ensure the Podcast Continues
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Check Out More Womxn Authors
- Episode 66: Patricia Engel – Author of Infinite Country
- Epiosde 64: Fan Favorites – Featuring Kim Krans, Brittney Morris, Aja Black, Melissa Valentine, and Rebekah Taussig
- Episode 63: Sonya Renee Taylor – Author of The Body is Not An Apology
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