Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller

(Paperback)

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'A moving portrait of Diwan and the Cairo that embraced it, an ode to all the people who have kept it going' Harvard Review

In 2002, three young women with no business degrees, no formal training, and nothing to lose founded a fiercely independent bookstore. At the time, nothing like Diwan existed in Cairo. Culture was languishing under government mismanagement, and books were considered a luxury, not a necessity. Over the next decade, these three women would contend with censors, chauvinists, critics, one another and many people who said they would never succeed in establishing Diwan as Cairo's leading bookstore.

Frank, fresh and very funny, Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller is a portrait of a country hurtling toward a revolution, a feminist rallying cry, and an unapologetic crash course in running a business under the law of entropy. Above all, it is a celebration of the power of words to bring us home.

'A unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time . . . fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny'

Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way)

'For every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore'

Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here

Reviews

'A moving portrait of Diwan and the Cairo that embraced it, an ode to all the people who have kept it going' * Harvard Review *
'A unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time. It is the story of Diwan, the first modern bookstore in Cairo, which was opened by three women, one of whom penned this book. As a bookstore owner I found this fascinating. As a reader I found it fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny' -- enny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way)
'Each chapter tells of a different section of the bookshop/cafe, with the memoir exploring the many challenges and difficulties the women faced in their enterprise. Her story is a fascinating and enlightening one' * Choice Magazine *

Author Bio

Nadia Wassef is an owner of Diwan, Egypt's first modern bookstore, which she co-founded in 2002 with her sister, Hind. She received an MFA from Birkbeck College at the University of London; a Master in Social Anthropology from the University of London; and a Master in English from American University in Cairo. Before Diwan, she worked in research and advocacy for the Female Genital Mutilation Taskforce and in the Women and Memory Forum. Featured on the Forbes List of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East in 2014, 2015, and 2016, Wassef's work has been covered in Time, Monocle, Business Monthly, and elsewhere. She lives in London with her two daughters.