Hybrid Author Session: Zoulfa Katouh (The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue)

IN-STORE EVENT

Date: 25 July 2026, Saturday
Time: 2.30pm
Venue: Wardah Books, 58 Bussorah Street, Level 2 (Stairs only)

Free Registration required: Click here

About the Session

• 2.30pm: Adult colouring session*
• 3.00pm: Author to dial in from Switzerland for a chat with Izza Haziqah
• 3.15pm: Q&A with readers
• 3.45pm: Closing/Prize Presentation (the best coloured work will win a prize – a signed hardback)

*Colouring sheets and colour pencils provided, but participants can bring their own

About the Author

Zoulfa Katouh is a Canadian with Syrian roots based in Switzerland. She is currently pursuing her master's in Drug Sciences and finds Studio Ghibli inspiration in the mountains, lakes, and stars surrounding her. When she's not talking to herself in the woodland forest, she's drinking iced coffee, baking aesthetic cookies and cakes, and telling everyone who would listen about how BTS paved the way. One of her many dreams is to get Kim Nam-joon to read one of her books.

About the Book

What if you felt like you'd cried all the colours away? The heart-wrenching new story of friendship, loss and identity from the author of international bestseller As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow.

'Devastating and luminous' – Kirkus Reviews

'A gorgeous magical story about the power and strength we find in our grief' - Huda Fahmy, author of Huda F Are You?

Joining an exclusive high school should be a fresh start for Jihad after her mother's sudden death. But she's the only Muslim student there; her hijab and even her name make her new classmates suspicious.

Only one person treats her with kindness but Jihad can't help questioning his motives. It's hard to trust anyone when she meets indifference or hostility all around her. As tension mounts, she finds refuge in an old sketchbook and in the stories her mama used to tell her. She is determined to focus on making it to art school and a brighter future, but as she starts illustrating her mother's memories, her canvas becomes bigger than she could ever have imagined.

Can Jihad become as resilient as the true meaning of her name, and let the colour back into her life?

Purchase the book: Click here.