Ahmed Mourad

Ahmed Mourad (Arabic: أحمد مراد‎‎; born February 14, 1978) is an Egyptian author and screenwriter of fiction and non-fiction. Mourad formerly worked as a personal and private photographer for Hosni Mubarak.

Mourad achieved his high school diploma from Lycée Français du Caire after failing two separate years before enrolling at the High Institute of Cinema, graduating with a degree in cinematography. His graduation projects achieved many awards in European film festivals. His projects include Alhaúmon, And On The Seventh Day, and The Three Papers, all of which were produced before his writing career.

His rise to fame started in 2007 when he published Vertigo. His first novel, it received critical and commercial success throughout all of Egypt and was translated into English, French, and Italian. It was also made into a television series starring Tunisian actress Hend Sabri in 2012.

His second novel, Diamond Dust, was published in 2010 before getting German and Italian translations, and is his most popular novel amidst readers.

His third novel, The Blue Elephant, was published in 2012, and is presumed to be his most successful and best-selling novel, receiving positive reviews. It has been turned into a theatrical film directed by Marwan Hamed (Known for directing The Yacoubian Building), with a screenplay written by Mourad, and stars Karim Abdel Aziz. Hamed and Mourad are scheduled to return to their duties as director and screenwriter respectively in a film adaption of Diamond Dust, and will star Asser Yassin as the main protagonist.

His fourth novel, 1919, was released in 2014. His fifth novel, The Land of God, was released in 2015. Both received favorable reviews.

Mourad is the screenwriter of The Originals, also directed by Marwan Hamed. Mourad was initially going to write The Originals as a novel before he decided it to be a theatrical film. The film was released on June 25, 2017 across most of Egypt to a mixed critical reception from audiences and critics alike.