Fatima Sharafeddine

Fatima Sharafeddine (Arabic:) is a Lebanese writer, editor, and translator of children and young books. She was born in 1966 in Beirut.  Sharafeddine holds an M.A. in Educational Theory and Practice (1993) and an M.A. in Modern Arabic literature (1996), both from Ohio State University. More than 120 books of Sharafeddine were published all over the world and many of them were translated into more than 15 languages including English, Dutch, and Spanish.  Sharaeddine has won several awards such as the Etisalat Children's Literature Award in 2017. and She was also nominated for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2010, 2011, 2016, and 2020.
Biography.
Fatima Sharafeddine was born in 1966 in Beirut, Lebanon. She moved with her parents to Sierra Leone, West Africa, and settled there until the age of six. Then, she returned to her homeland, Lebanon. In 1989, Sharafeddine joined the Lebanese American University to study Early childhood education. After graduation, she moved to the US where she obtained her M.A. in Educational Theory and Practice (1993) and an M.A. in Modern Arabic literature (1996), from Ohio State University. After that, she headed to Texas in 1996, where she worked as a lead teacher. She, additionally, delivered Arabic and culture lectures at Rice University.
Sharafeddine started her writing career in 2005. So far, she has written more than 120 books for children and young adults including ‘My Book Got Bored’ and ‘Cappuccino’. She translated several children books from French and English into Arabic; and many of her books were translated into different languages such as: English, Spanish, Hindi, and Dutch.
In her books, Sharafeddine avoids the direct style where the child grasps the moral lesson on a silver platter; but instead, she seeks to nurture the child's imagination and feelings to help the child comprehend the lesson on his own.
Sharafeddine has won several awards including Bologna Ragazzi New Hroizon Award for ‘Tongue Twisters’ (2016) and The Etisalat Award for her novel "Cappuccino" (2017). She was, also, longlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for "The red maple leaf" (2016) and nominated for the Etisalat Award- Young Adult Book of the Year for "Mila’s Pear"(2019).
Works.
Sharafeddine's publications include:
Translations.
Sharafeddine has translated some books from English into Arabic and vice versa, including:
Awards.
Some of the awards that Sharafeddine has won are:
2011: Reading Here, There and Everywhere Award organized by Anna Lindh Foundation, for her book ‘Laughter and Crying’. 
2013: Best Book Award at the Sharjah Book Fair for "My book got bored".
2016: Bologna Ragazzi New Hroizon Award for ‘Tongue Twisters’.
2017: Etisalat Award for the YA novel "Cappuccino".
Nominations.
Some of the Sharafeddine's works that got nominated for awards:
2013: Shortlisted for Etisalat Award for "Ghadi and Rawan".
2015:  Shortlisted for Etisalat Award for "Sumsum in mom’s tummy".
2016: Longlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Award for "The red maple leaf".
2019: Nominated for Etisalat Award- Young Adult Book of the Year for "Mila’s Pear”