Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi looks like any other regular school girl, but she is definitely far from ordinary. At only 11 years of age, Alhazmi has already published two novels – Treasure of the Lost Sea and Portal of the Hidden World – and is working on three other books, one dedicated to kids. And as if all that wasn’t enough for the young author, Alhazmi has now been nominated to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest author in the world!
Her journey to becoming a young Saudi icon and an inspiration to girls and women across the globe who aspire to become author themselves began right from when she was little. Alhamzi spent most of her childhood reading adventure books, a genre she seems to be focused on with her current and upcoming publications. It was from a very young age that the author knew she wanted to do something that connected her to people through the sharing of ideas, insights, and opinions.
Through writing, Alhamzi did just that, putting her thoughts and ideas, insights and stories down on paper. She began writing at the age of 6, then moved on to short stories at the age of 8, quickly becoming by just 11 years of age – with the encouragement of her parents – a series writer, publishing two books in Arabic and English (both in 2019)!
Congrats to Ritaj Al Hazmi - twelve year old author- preneur and now presenter/producer of her own ‘how to publish a book series’. Ritaj successfully launched the ‘how to publish a book’ program yesterday #kudos #KSA
— the cassowary (@sammy_kozak) July 15, 2020
Thanks to a…https://t.co/ZXDMDgtW3a https://t.co/eZeQvGgwNY
According to a recent interview she gave Saudi Gazette, between when she started developing a love for reading and publishing her first book, Alhamzi was reading so intensely that in one of her summer programs, she completed reading more than 50 books, an approach that helped her develop her ideas and style. According to her official website, when the young novelist isn’t deep into a good story, she dedicates her time to learning the Japanese language.
