Fadi Zaghmout

Jordan

About

Fadi Zaghmout is a Jordanian novelist, blogger, and advocate for gender equality, sexual freedom, and body rights. Born in Amman in 1978, he grew up observing the social expectations and taboos that shape personal relationships in Jordanian society. He initially gained recognition through his English-language blog, launched in 2006, which explored individual freedom, gender, and sexuality—subjects rarely discussed openly in mainstream Jordanian media. Zaghmout made his literary debut with The Bride of Amman (2012), a bestselling and controversial novel that examines the lives of four women and one gay man confronting social restrictions in contemporary Amman. The book was translated into English by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp and published in 2015. His other works include Heaven on Earth, Laila, and The Man of Middling Height, which uses an imagined society divided by height to explore discrimination and social inequality. Zaghmout holds a master’s degree in Creative Writing and Critical Thinking from the University of Sussex. His fiction challenges conventional assumptions about gender, sexuality, identity, and belonging, contributing to broader conversations about individual rights and social change in the Arab world. In 2024, he received a Study UK Alumni Award in recognition of his social impact in the United Arab Emirates.

Books on TheBookRoads

All genres Science Fiction Fiction Short Stories

All themes Freedom & Resistance Society & Class

Newest first Oldest first

Heaven on Earth

Heaven on Earth

What would happen if science made it possible to remain young forever? Set in Jordan in the 2090s, Heaven on Earth imagines a future transformed by advances in biotechnology and nanotechnology that allow people to reverse the aging process. Yet the promise of eternal youth brings unexpected moral, social, and emotional dilemmas. At the heart of the novel is Janna Abdallah, a journalist navigating a world where humanity has gained unprecedented control over life and death. Her brother, Jamal, who contributed to the scientific breakthroughs behind this new reality, makes the controversial decision to reject age suppression and allow himself to die naturally. His choice unsettles the family and challenges the assumptions of a society that has come to regard aging as a problem to be solved. Meanwhile, strict reproductive regulations complicate the family’s hopes for the future. Blending speculative fiction with social commentary, Zaghmout explores the ethical limits of scientific progress, individual autonomy, family relationships, and the meaning of a fulfilling life. By placing these questions within a distinctly Jordanian cultural setting, he invites readers to reconsider the boundaries between technological possibility and human freedom.

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism

Arabilious: Anthology of Arab Futurism brings together nine science-fiction stories imagining alternative futures shaped by the cultures, histories, and social realities of the Arab world. Featuring writers from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, the collection challenges the dominance of Western perspectives in speculative fiction and presents visions of the future rooted in Arab experiences. The stories explore the consequences of emerging technologies, environmental crises, political conflict, and social inequality. Rather than imagining progress as a simple escape from the past, the contributors examine how traditions, collective identities, and historical memories continue to shape societies undergoing rapid change. The anthology includes Fadi Zaghmout’s A Jaha in the Metaverse, which reimagines the traditional Jordanian marriage-custom ceremony within a virtual world, using satire to question the persistence of patriarchal practices in an increasingly technological society. Together, these stories expand the possibilities of Arab science fiction, offering imaginative alternatives to the present while questioning who gets to envision the future. The collection combines speculative experimentation with cultural specificity, social criticism, and reflections on the legacy of colonialism.

Country

Also from Jordan