path, working in marketing and even trained to become a magistrate. She worked with children and young people through various projects, but it wasn’t until 2014 that she came back to writing. A friend asked her to research and write biographies for a festival they were organising and A. M. Dassu “suddenly remembered that I loved writing”. With that, she began a blog (covering “anything and everything”) which quickly grew in popularity. The blog led to published (and paid) articles and A. M. Dassu was on a new path as a writer. That was in 2014 and almost seven years later Boy, Everywhere is finally published.
Syrian man was being interviewed. He was wearing nice clothes, had a smartphone and was wearing Nike trainers. A. M. Dassu says she had a “lightbulb moment” as she looked around her own home and realised “if there was a bomb down the road because there was a civil war in this country, I would leave with my children. And I would wear my Nike trainers, and take my smartphone, and my nice jacket – I would be him.”
That realisation confirmed the importance of Sami’s backstory as the key to understanding his journey – it was crucial to see where he had come from. A. M. Dassu said: “It was really important to show this back story. The media leads us to believe that refugees all want to go on a boat to get to England, but in the story Sami is constantly fighting against going in a boat. His father knows it is dangerous, but he sees it is the only way to get to safety.”
A. M. Dassu has used Boy, Everywhere and Sami’s story during visits to schools, where she highlights the similarities between life in pre-war Damascus and our own. She says: “I have been into schools and used excerpts from the book to work with children. I’ve shown children pictures of Damascus and asked where they think it is. Children say London, Birmingham or New York and when I say ‘actually, this is Damascus’, their mouths drop – even the teacher’s. I then read a chapter where Sami is told they’re leaving Syria that morning, and ask them to list what they would take if they only had twenty minutes to pack. They usually say teddy bears and pets. Once they’ve seen photos of Damascus and the description of Sami’s house, they can relate and can
8 PEN&INC.
think about what they would do, and how they would react if they had to leave their friends behind.
“Children are beautiful, they are empathetic and can put themselves in other people‘s shoes. I show them a photo of the shopping mall, KFC, Costa, a supermarket shelf with a selection of Kellogg’s cereals on it. People just don’t imagine Damascus being like that.” As A. M. Dassu researched the book and life in Damascus, she met and became friends with many Syrians. She says: “A lot of my Damascene friends are so happy that I am doing this – they want people to know that they wouldn’t have left if they didn’t have to. Refugees don’t have the energy or time to explain to people what life was like. When they come to this country, they are focused on settling down – things like getting a bed, or a mattress and getting the support they need to get leave to remain, to stay safe. “The reception has been amazing so far – we have had librarians, booksellers and teachers read it. I have been writing and editing it for so long and at times I wondered whether it would ever get published. So the reaction so far has been wonderful – people have been stunned by the backstory and thinking about the previous lives of refugees. The fact you can lose everything so easily – we could be Sami, we could be his parents.” The route to becoming an author has not been straightforward for A. M. Dassu, but she says the signs have always been there. At school, English was her favourite subject and she was top of the class, but instead of a degree in English literature or creative writing she chose to study economics and management. She continued down that
A. M. Dassu says: “It’s not easy to get published. It’s a difficult journey – it takes persistence. Philip Pullman says you need persistence, talent and luck – you need all three. And I agree.” As she realised that she wanted to be a children’s author, A. M. Dassu sought out help and advice – she joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCWBI), saying: “I was so eager to get published, and I was lucky because I met the right people early on. The children’s book community is amazing – there isn’t anything like it. It is so supportive, and I don’t think I’d be here today if it had not been for SCWBI and learning about the publication journey through other people’s experiences.” Beyond that, A. M. Dassu relishes feedback and talks about “taking it on the chin”. She sees it as an essential part of her craft – a constructive tool helping her to hone her skill and develop her stories and characters. She is happy to learn from others. As we discuss A. M. Dassu’s experiences she points out that she has been lucky enough to have financial support that has allowed her to pursue the dream of becoming an author. “It takes so much energy to write a book – it’s draining. I’m exhausted at the end of the day, and its mentally and emotionally draining. You can’t do that if you do not have some support. When someone is worrying about the electricity bill, or worrying about how they can pay for their weekly shop, or working three jobs – they just aren’t going to have the energy to write.”
That support can come from home, but
A. M. Dassu would like to see more done by the industry to support emerging talent. A lack of support can often be amplified for writers from a diverse background and A. M. Dassu says that more could be done to unearth and nurture authentic voices. She feels that the publishing process has changed over the last 10 years, meaning there is less
Autumn-Winter 2020
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