Bothayna Al Essa, born in 1982, is a prolific novelist from Kuwait. She is the author of ten novels, and the co-founder of Takween, a cultural platform, publishing house, and bookstore. Her novels include: Kharait al-Tayh (Lost in Mecca, tr. Nada Faris) and Kabirtu wa Nasaitu an Ansa (All That I Want to Forget, tr. Michele Henjum), both translated into English; Tahta Aqdam al-Ummahat (translated into Persian by Ruhallah Rahimi); Haris Sah al-Alam (The Book Censor’s Library, tr. Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain). Al Essa has been writing full time since 2013 and was awarded Kuwait’s National Encouragement Award twice for her fiction: in 2003 and 2012. She also writes about writing and delivers creative writing workshops throughout the Arab region. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Kuwait University with a major in finance.