Arts and Culture

September 12, 2010

Nannies of New York vs.Nannies of Abu Dhabi

When I first arrived in New York City’s Upper Westside this summer, one of my first thoughts was, “Wow, it’s true what they’re saying about the US—interracial couples are on the rise.” A couple of days later when I saw women with strollers rolling into the “mommy and me classes” next door, I remember thinking, Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Middle East, Travel

Abu Dhabi, nannies, New York
September 4, 2010

ABC.COM’s Michelle Goodman on the Freelance Life & Art

Recently, Michelle Goodman, the author of “My So-Called Freelance Life,” a must read cautionary and inspirational tale for those contemplating chucking it all to pursue their own dreams, interviewed me and two other writers for her column on ABC.com. You can read for yourself how we all learned about the glamorous life of writing. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/artist-heart-michelle-goldmans-reasons-day-job/story?id=11287370 Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Publishing

artists, Authors, Freelancing, writers
August 23, 2010

Recipe From The Night Counter: Kibbeh

For all special occasions, Fatima prides herself on the kibbeh she makes. That makes her like many women in the Middle East who have mastered the art of this rather complex food. In my family, like so many extended families, no party is ever complete without a platter of my Aunt Suad’s kibbeh, which is Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Books, Food, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, recipes
July 22, 2010

Weather or not? Not Just Small Talk

I’ve been back in the US for a month now. And, just as it is for Fatima’s children in “The Night Counter,” weather seems the first thing people want to talk about, people who aren’t even estranged relatives who can’t think of anything else to say to me. Everyone–friend, foe and stranger–wants to talk about Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Middle East, Travel

heat, small talk, weather
July 16, 2010

THE PAPERBACK RELEASE OF THE NIGHT COUNTER THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Emily Lavelle (212) 572-8756 elavelle@randomhouse.com PRAISE FOR THE NIGHT COUNTER: “[Yunis] weaves a colorful tapestry…rich in character and spirit.” —Entertainment Weekly “Wonderfully imaginative…poignant, hilarious…The branches of this family tree support four generations of achievement, assimilation, disappointment, and dysfunction.…Their stories form an affectionate, amusing, intensely human portrait of Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Islam/Muslim, Lebanon, Los Angeles, Middle East, Publishing

Novel, Random House Press Release, The Night Counter, Three Rivers Press
July 9, 2010

LAUNDRY DAY FOOD FROM THE NIGHT COUNTER: MAJADERA

In The Night Counter, Amir promises his grandmother Fatima that for dinner he is not eating quiche, or gay pie, as he explains it to her, but rather majadera, a food with a whole lot less glamour to it than quiche and a whole lot more gas. But dress it down or dress it up, Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Books, Food, Middle East, NIght Counter Reviews and Press, recipes

majadera, majedera recipe, recipe
June 27, 2010

Outlandish Landless LandMine by Sami Zarour

Most of what I post on this blog are about the upside of life in the Middle East because most people living outside the borders of the Middle East, whether physically or mentally, are unaware that there is an upside. Plus I don’t really know how to write about the tragedies of the region without Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Lebanon, Middle East, Palestine

poetry, sami zarour
June 17, 2010

The Henna Hands of The Night Counter

The paperback cover is ready, and no, neither one of the hands on it is mine, as some people have asked me. Responding to “Don’t you love it as much as we do? We hope so!” was about as much input as I was allowed to have in the cover’s design. And after getting over Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Publishing

Alia Yunis, Author, The Night Counter paperback
June 10, 2010

The Abu Dhabi Zoo Effect VS. Sex and the City

They missed the real Abu Dhabi in Sex and the City II, and in the real Abu Dhabi, tourists and Arabs wouldn’t notice Carrie and her gang–there are plenty of scantily designer-dressed Western women seeking really rich men walking around here. The women that get the head turns are the women you can’t really see. Continue reading

Abu Dhabi, Arabs, Arts and Culture, Film, Middle East

Abu Dhabi, Sex and the City, zoo effect
May 17, 2010

Breaking News and Beauty Queens

I got two e-mails marked “Breaking News” from two Arab American organizations today. I’ve never gotten breaking news from Arab American organizations, not about terrorism and counter terrorism, not about racial profiling, not about civil rights, not about a great new film, book, or art exhibition. But today I got breaking news: An Arab American Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture

Arab Americans, Miss USA

About Alia

Alia Yunis is a writer, journalist and filmmaker. She is currently producing and directing “The Golden Harvest,” a feature length documentary about how olive oil has shaped the Mediterranean culture, cuisine and history for 6,000 years, through war and peace. Her debut novel, The Night Counter (Random House) has been critically acclaimed by the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and several other publications. It was also chosen as a top summer read by the Chicago Tribune and Boston Phoenix. The Boston Globe has called it “wonderfully imaginative…poignant, hilarious.” Alia was born in Chicago and grew up in the U.S., Greece, and the Middle East. She has worked as a filmmaker and journalist in several cities, especially Los Angeles. Her fiction has appeared in several anthologies, including The Robert Olen Butler Best Short Stories collection, and her non-fiction work includes articles for The Los Angeles Times, Saveur, SportsTravel Magazine, and Aramco World. She currently teaches film at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.