Photo: Courtesy of Guinness World Records
Born in Dhahran city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, 13-year-old Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi is now officially the youngest author in the world to publish an entire book series.
Starting her literary journey at the tender age of six, Alhazmi has written and published three books in a series, which makes her the “youngest person to publish a book series (female)”, according to the Guinness World Records. “Being a Guinness World Records holder is a big achievement that I want to share with young writers. I want to motivate and encourage young writers to take challenges and face obstacles,” Alhazmi said while accepting her new title.
الثاني من مايو يصادف اليوم الذي شهدتُ فيه محاولة تحقيق لقب 'أصغر كاتبة سلسلة كتب' في #غينيس للأرقام القياسية
May 2nd marks the day where I witnessed the attempt of achieving a record titled ‘youngest series writer’ in #Guinness World Records#ريتاج_الحازمي pic.twitter.com/LjQZAsCxvn— Ritaj Alhazmi | ريتــاج الحازمي (@ritajalhazmi) May 3, 2022
The Guinness World Records holder began traveling with her parents for school at a young age, and says her experiences were the source of her ideas and inspiration. Her first book, titled ‘Treasure of the Lost Sea’ was published in 2019, followed by her second book ‘Portal of the Hidden World’, which was also published in the same year. In 2020, Alhazmi published her third novel in the series, named ‘Beyond the Future World’, and is currently working on the fourth book of the series, which is titled ‘The Passage to the Unknown’.
أكملت كتابي الجديد 'العبور الى المجهول' وسيتم نشره قريبا
Completed my new book ‘The Passage to the Unknown’ and will be published soon. #ريتاج_الحازمي pic.twitter.com/7NZbG6kSZm— Ritaj Alhazmi | ريتــاج الحازمي (@ritajalhazmi) June 10, 2022
Inspired by the writing style of illustrious authors such as J.K Rowling and Joanne Rendell, Alhazmi hopes to become a source of inspiration for aspiring young authors. The author credits her success to the libraries of Saudi Arabia, which she has been frequenting since she was just seven years old. Along with her family travels, Alhazmi shared that it was this habit that inspired her to begin writing short stories of her own. “I write for my fellow children’s community,” she says. “I realized there aren’t many novels for this age group, so I decided to create a few of my own.” With a vision to make her mark in the industry, Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi continues to write today, and also has her own website that sells her work. Her books can also be found on other online portals.
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