Ebury snags Zayneb Haleem's first illustrated book for adults

Ebury Press has bought Zayneb Haleem’s first illustrated book for adults. Dear Moon: Be guided by the beautiful wisdom of the Qur’an will be published on 5th December.

The illustrated book follows the journey of Haleem’s recurring character of a young hijabi girl, interwoven with quotes from the Qur’an.

Editorial director Ru Merritt bought world all language rights direct from the author. Ebury Press will publish in hardback and e-book simultaneously with Andrews McMeel Publishing in the US and Fontaine Uitgevers in the Netherlands.

Haleem has garnered a huge online following and she runs a successful online business selling merchandise that includes her hijabi girl character, as well as inspirational Islam-related sayings.

Haleem said: “Publishing this book has been a dream come true for me! Dear Moon was born from my love for art and the beautiful teachings of the Qur’an. I created this book to fill a gap I couldn’t find elsewhere. 

“This is a collection of soft and atmospheric illustrations with words from the Qur’an and prompts to help set you in the right direction. I’m so happy to share some of my best illustrations paired with my favourite Qur’anic ayahs and quotes. It includes some well-loved illustrations along with a lot of exclusive new ones. I hope this book will inspire you and bring comfort, no matter where you are in life.”

Merritt said: “Zayneb is a hugely talented artist and her book is so visually stunning, bringing to life the most inspiring words from the Qur’an for all Muslim readers. It’s a very special book for us—we’ve never seen any book like Zayneb’s in bookshops before, and so I’m excited for us to be able to share Zayneb’s artwork with readers across the world.”