Books

January 12, 2013

That Mad Game

…There have 14,000 wars in the last 5,600 years, and at least 160 since 1945. Children are far more likely to experience war at some point during their childhood than they are to grow up without it.” J.L. Powers, That Mad Game: Growing Up in a Warzone I was rather reluctant when I got an Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Books, Lebanon, Palestine

Books, children, war, youth
November 14, 2010

Feigen in Detroit: The Night Counter in Germany

Many people ask me why “The Night Counter” is called “Feigen in Detroit” in German, which means “Figs in Detroit.” Therein lies the beauty of translation. It’s all about what your translators (Max Stadler and Nadine Puschel) and publisher (AufBau) see in German that you didn’t see in English. I have loved working with AufBau Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Middle East

Books, Feigen in Detroit, Germany, The Night Counter
September 6, 2009

The Boston Globe Review

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/08/09/in_dunants_sacred_hearts_a_story_of_thwarted_love_and_church_intrigue/ “In Alia Yunis’s poignant, hilarious first novel, “The Night Counter,’’ purple-haired, 85-year-old Fatimah Abdulla tells her life story to Scheherazade, the legendary storyteller from “The Arabian Nights,’’ who appears every night in the elderly woman’s Los Angeles bedroom. Fatimah has plenty of stories. She came to Detroit from Lebanon as a teenage bride, had Continue reading

Arabs, Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Publishing

Author, book reviews, Books, Boston Globe, The Night Counter
August 10, 2009

The Minneapolis Star Tribune and Other Reasons I Love Minnesota

The Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote a great review of The Night Counter in its Sunday edition: http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/books/52617702.html (Link also posted under The Night Counter Press & Reviews here) But that is not the only reason I was excited to do a reading for Mizna (www.mizna.org) in Minneapolis on Saturday. Minnesota has been a part of Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Minnesota, Publishing

Books, Minnesota, reviews, The Night Counter
July 26, 2009

The Night Counter Sells Out At Book Soup

Thank you to everyone who came to yesterday’s reading at Book Soup. You didn’t leave a copy in the store! (More books are on their way) When I first moved to LA many years ago, it was a terribly clunky move, with lots of test and trials that were not easy, in fact, often very Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Los Angeles, Middle East

Authors, Books, The Night Counter
July 21, 2009

THE NIGHT COUNTER: NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER AT VROMAN’S

It really is true: http://hometown-pasadena.com/2009/07/vromans-bestsellers-7202009/ Of course, that probably will not be the case next week at Vroman’s, as there are no books left in the store at the moment. But fear not, more are on the way. The Night Counter’s sold out status at one of L.A.’s best bookstores—if not one of the country’s–is Continue reading

Author, Books, Los Angeles, Middle East, NIght Counter Reviews and Press, Publishing

Author, Books, The Night Counter, Vroman’s
July 17, 2009

At A BOOKSTORE SOMEWHERE IN LA

Or How Not To Buy Your Own Book. The first day The Night Counter came out, my friend Natasha promptly bought it at Barnes and Noble in New York, and another friend did the same in Nashville. So I thought I’m going to go buy my own book, too. Just to see it in a Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Publishing

Authors, Books, The Night Counter, Writing
July 7, 2009

Review of the Night Counter From Genre Reviews

Saturday, June 27, 2009 The Night Counter-Alia Yunis The Night Counter Alia Yunis Shaye Areheart (Crown), Jul 14 2009, $24.00 ISBN: 9780307453624 Lebanese immigrant Fatima Abdullah is dying, but shows no interest in a reconciliation with her estranged husband Ibraham or for that matter with her children sprawled all over the country as she prefers Continue reading

Uncategorized

Author, book reviews, Books
June 25, 2009

AN OCCASSIONAL BOOK REVIEW: THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG

THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery According to 12-year old Paloma, Renee Michel, her building’s middle-aged concierge, is like the hedgehog: “a deceptively indolent little creature, fiercely solitary –and terribly elegant.” Paloma and Renee are the protagonists of this little hedgehog of a book, with its simple tale of an autodidactic concierge and Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Books, Publishing

Books, reviews
June 16, 2009

The Night Counter: A Starred Review in Kirkus

The Night Counter received a starred reveiw in Kirkus Reviews this week. It leaves a tired writer so joyful she is wordless. A link to the original can be found at: http://www.aliayunis.com/press.html (It also inspired Chris Costello, the person who designed this website, and I to update the Events page on the website.) But if Continue reading

Arts and Culture, Author, Books, Middle East, Publishing

Arab Americans, Author, Books, Middle East

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.