MSI Press Blog

  photo includes Princess Muna of Jordan (mother of King Abdullah) in the center and Dr. Betty Leaver, MSI Press editor, second from the right; others - members of a visiting delegation We are happy tp provide you with a taste of the Middle East. Each of the books below contains nuggets and insights that are hard to find elsewhere -- written by the residents of the Middle East. Follow the links to more information. Damascus amid the War by Muna Imady Written by popular author, Muna Imady, whose book, Syrian Folktales, has delighted an uncountable number of readers outside of Syria, Damascus amid the War tells the very human story of the devolution of a society. The book containts 29 pre-war poins, vibrant with imagery of daily life in a robust Damascus. The 100 war poems that follow show the devastating affect on the people who navigate a daily existence after war came. This is a posthumous publication, containing Muna’s very last works and an introduction by her mother, Elaine Imady,

Veteran and award-winning author, Omar Imady, has done it again with a new book, Erasures . Literary Titan Gold Award Winner. 'An exceptional novel on par with previous dystopian classics written by Orwell and Huxley.' - Los Angeles Book Review The Year is 2049. Following a brutal seven-year war, Earth teeters on the brink of destruction. The World Congress is convened to identify the enemy: unpredictability. Deep in the subterranean corridors of Zone 4 Literature Hub, Head Archivist Ray Blankenship is tasked with digitizing humanity’s remaining books. In this new world, meticulously organized, monitored, and managed, Ray is restless. In the absence of chance, of mystery and miracles, meaning is missing. Amid the order, Ray’s shocking discovery of disappearing digital texts quickly plunges his department, his superiors, and the entire principle of predictability into uncertainty. Soon, whole books begin to vanish. But not just any books. Only religious ones. As the race to pres

  As the managing editor of MSI Press, I am reaching out to you to ask whether you’d be interested in reviewing a book by an author who is very close to my heart and whose most recent book has been published by Villa Magna. Omar Imady is one of the finest writers to come out of Syria, and I have known him and his family for many years. Omar’s writing weaves together themes of religion, spirituality and history with the light touch of magic realism. His writing is quite simply magical.   Omar’s latest book When Her Hand Moves is a lyrical symphony in three captivating movements; that combines the sensual and the sacred, the intellectual and the imaginary, the divine and the dangerous in three stories that examine, interrogate, and challenge our understanding of universal truths and spirituality.    An English nurse becomes possessed with unravelling the mystery behind the disappearance of a Syrian woman. A Syrian professor escapes Damascus only to find himself in another su

We like to think that MSI Press is a family, but sometimes, we have families among our authors. One such family is the Imady family from Damascus, Syria. Elaine Imady, the mother, met her sweetheart in New York and moved with him to his home country of Syria, where she raised three bicultural children. Her love story is told in Road to Damascus . Read more about Elaine and her book HERE .     Muna Imady, the daughter, wrote a beloved and popular book,  Syrian Folktales . Not long after, she died following heart surgery, leaving a mostly finished, unpublished book, Damascus amid the War, due out in August 2020. Elaine and daughter #32, Sausan, put the finishing touches on the book, including a touching memorial to Muna that had been published in the  New York Times . Read more about Muna, her life, and her books  HERE . Dr. Omar Imady, the son, is a professor of political science who has written a number of fiction and non-fiction books about Syria, Middle Ea

         Congratulations to Dr. Omar Imady on his book, When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to Your Left: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism , being selected as the  Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards  lega cy award in the category of religion.   This book contains 29 stories originally articulated in Arabic by Bashir Al-Bani, Orator of the Grand Mosque of Damascus and one of the masters of the Sufi Naqishbandi Order. They have been compiled, rendered in English, and introduced by Dr. Omar Imady, professor of humanities and political science. The stories are often comic but deep in implication. One story may address the motives underlying human interaction; another may address how hidden principles guide the way in which our lives unfold. A delicate concern for the value, indeed the sacredness, of human value permeates all the stories. This concern is explicated through metaphors, the purest vocabulary of Islamic humanism. Read more posts about Omar and his books HERE .

  The affiliated book, The Celeste Experiment , by Omar Imady has just won a silver award from Literary Titan.   When modern science fails to save his wife Celeste, Michael turns to religion. When religion fails to cure her, he is left searching for answers.  From his grief flows anger, determination, and finally the plan – a meticulous experiment to unravel the truth in one of civilization’s most controversial topics … the concept of God.  At the heart of this plan is Hamida Begum. A young woman of depth and intelligence, heiress to a lost lineage. Selected and prepared. Qualified in ways even Michael could never have anticipated.  Will her involvement in this vast, mysterious, and at times unethical endeavor deliver resolution?   This literary work, with a touch of magical realism,  The Celeste Experiment,  is the story of one man’s attempt to sever the spiritual threads of history once and for all. It is a thrilling journey of revenge and conviction, sorrow and rage, design and entr

  Omar Imady, who started out his publishing career with MSI Press and still has two books with us, has done some remarkable work over the past decade -- a couple of "gospels" with Villa Magna (The Gospel of Damascus in four languages was a Book of the Year finalist for the English version; and The Gospel of Bethany) and now, a new book, When Her Hand Moves , also with Villa Magna. Here is a summary of the new book: When Her Hand Moves  combines the sensual and the sacred, the intellectual and the imaginary, the divine and the dangerous in two stories that examine, interrogate, and challenge our understanding of universal truths and spirituality. A Syrian history professor escapes Damascus only to find himself in another surreal and dangerous setting, uncovering a conspiracy that places his life in even greater peril. And an Oxford professor and an eccentric journalist embark on an adventure through Portugal and Spain seeking to decipher an ancient manuscript and uncover a re

  Omar Imady, author and poet, has produced a new book, The Celeste Experiment , to be published November 17 by Villa Magna Press. The book is available on pre-order from Amazon. We welcome this new book as an affiliate with MSI Press.  For more posts on Omar Imady, click HERE . For more posts on affiliated books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

We do not publish fiction, but one of our writers, Omar Imady, writes some pretty terrific novels. His newest is The Gospel of Bethany: Mormon Coffee and Sufi Tea. (The link is to a page that contains all his works.) From the description, it will be a roller coaster experience and emotional wringer of a read. Definitely looking forward to a great bedside book. Recommending it to all, based not only on the description but also on Omar's other work of fiction, The Gospel of Damascus , which is an extraordinary book--and available in four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. The Gospel of Damascu s is published by Villa Magna; the books are available on Amazon. In addition, Omar has written two works that MSI Press has published: When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to Your Left: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism , a delightful book that everyone I know who has read it loves. One Catholic priest uses the stories for his homilies--testimony to the fact that the

Our newest affiliated book is When Her Hand Moves by Omar Imady. Ths book is available in paperback, kindle and audio versions. See more posts about Omar and his books HERE .                                     Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Each month, we share near-daily, or as often as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is  Road to Damascus  by Elaine Imady. Description: Recommended by US Review of Books and First Runner-Up in the Eric Hoffer Awards legacy competition, Road to Damascus describes the Middle Eastern journey of an American who meets and falls in love with a Syrian when they are both attending school in New York. Giving up her country and her religion to follow her husband back to Syria, Elaine Imady has made a life that has successfully bridged two cultures and two con

  What is a book jewel? A sometimes-overlooked book with remarkable insight and potential significance. Each month, we share near-daily, or as often as possible, reviews of the monthly book jewel - short, succinct reviews that can be read in 1-2 minutes with links to the reviewer by reviewers whose words are worthy of being heard and whose opinions are worthy of being considered. Sometimes a couple of minutes contains more impressive thought than ten times that many. We will let you decide that. This month's book jewel is  Road to Damascus  by Elaine Imady. Description: Recommended by US Review of Books and First Runner-Up in the Eric Hoffer Awards legacy competition, Road to Damascus describes the Middle Eastern journey of an American who meets and falls in love with a Syrian when they are both attending school in New York. Giving up her country and her religion to follow her husband back to Syria, Elaine Imady has made a life that has successfully bridged two cultures and two con