Samya Hafsaoui

About 'The Princess Songbook':

As a professional writer people have opinions about my writing all. the. time. And sometimes that feedback can be rooted in bigotry and ignorance. After years and years of dealing with thinly failed excuses to exclude people of color and any kind of flavor to stories that was not exclusively of the salt and vanilla kind, I needed to write something purely for myself again. 

A story that flowed straight from my fingertips, to the page, and into the world. Something that is completely mine to make and feel things about and love. To project my love for writing and sharing stories. To not feel sad all the time about the state of the industry and how people are being silenced and pushed back in representing their authentic experiences and communities.

So, naturally, I decided to write about Eurovision. A place I love and have the privilege of working in for the past two years. A little 'what if' story. Like The Princess Diaries meets Hallmark Christmas Princess Movies meets any Y2k Hilary Duff movie...or something like that.

I just want to love writing again, and I hope you'll read along as I try and figure out how to find that happy spark again. 

About '36 Questions':

36 Questions (and a lot of coffee) is my first try at writing an inclusive story from the point of view of your average hijabi that lived and grew up in western civilization. Someone that prays 5 times a day and also thinks in High School Musical metaphors from time to time. No problematic tropes. No internal struggles with faith and culture. Just two muslim teens falling in love over cappuccinos and puns.