Affaf Tobbala was born in Cairo on July 12, 1941. She has a Bachelor of Arts in French Literature (1965), a Master of Arts in Communication, specializing in Broadcast Media (1987) and a PhD in Communication, also in Broadcast Media (1997), all from the University of Cairo. In 2005, after a full and acclaimed career as director, screenplay writer and producer of groundbreaking documentary programs, and as a professor of broadcast media in various universities and institutes, she started writing for children at the age of 64, opening new doors for her creative faculties. In more than seventeen years of writing for young people, she published 20 titles of different styles and for diverse age groups, including a collection of short stories and four novels for young adults. In her writing for children, she went beyond the didactic style forming a dynamic literary form rich in its imagination and creativity. Her stories are well structured, engaging, and powerful in its impact. She tackles a wide array of topics, ranging from what is usually of common interest to children, to others that introduce them to new realms of knowledge, values, and pertinent world issues. Tobbala skillfully interlaces the imaginary and the real, transcending the dichotomy between them and intentionally embracing and nurturing the fertile imagination of her young readers. In her writing, Tobbala unashamedly promotes progressive ideas and encourages the young to rethink tradition and adapt it according to the needs of their reality. Benefiting from her experience as a screenplay writer and a TV director, her writing style is fast paced and dynamic, making it attractive to the young readers attuned to visual entertainment, while providing them distinct themes, values, and aesthetics. For her books to be read in all Arabic speaking countries she writes in standard Arabic, which is the formal official language in the Arab region. She maintains a literary style that is rich, simple, and contemporary, for she firmly believes in enriching young readers鈥� vocabulary by presenting them with good literature. Her books are repeatedly reprinted, and they continuously attract the attention of critics and academics. Her work has been highly acknowledged both on the national and regional level and she has been given the three biggest awards in the Arab World namely, Sheikh Zayed Award (2011), Etisalat Award (2013 and 2021) and Khalifa for Education (2018). She also published a collection of short stories in 2016 and completed a new novel that will soon be published.