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Racha Mourtada

Biography:

Racha Mourtada is an author and founder of Luqoom, a boutique publishing house for children’s books. She has had a diverse career – working as a biomedical engineer, a UN researcher, and a public policy analyst – throughout which the one constant has been her love of writing.

An alumnus of Faber Academy’s ‘Novel Writing Course’ and the inaugural ‘Columbia Publishing Course’ at Oxford University, she left her corporate life in Dubai in the summer of 2017 and moved back to her native Beirut to set up her publishing house and focus on her writing.

She loves to take Luqoom’s books with her on adventures. Her children’s book, ‘Swingers, Clingers and Other Amazing Animals in Motion’ accompanied her to the summit of Kilimanjaro, while her book of flash fiction, ’55 slightly sinister stories’ hiked the Inca Trail with her, making it up Rainbow Mountain and all the way to the ancient city of Machu Picchu.

Statement:

Founded by Racha Mourtada, Luqoom is a boutique publisher of pretty picture books in Arabic and English, based in Beirut. We believe books are treats to be savored. They should be held, pored over, snuggled with and shared.

At Luqoom, we know that the combination of spare prose and beautiful imagery can create something magical. We strive to make luscious books that are captivating and visually rich, inviting kids (and the young at heart) into a world where they can let their curiosity and imagination run free.

We love the collaborative approach to creating a book, and we’re proud to work with a creative community of local Lebanese writers, illustrators and printers to bring Luqoom books to life.

We are particularly partial to science, silliness and good storytelling.