Ok Now that I figured out how to do this

I am still unsure about it! Or the title! Or the profile picture!
But I am here, so we'll see how it goes.

My current strategy is to choose something and stick with it until something changes my mind.

So, hello!- My name is Hatem, and I am an illustrator of several children's books that can be found in bookstores and public libraries, just like that! Which to me is unbelievable! I currently live in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada, but I was born in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to Canada only in my late 20s. A few of the books I illustrated are also in Arabic, though I have not done any in a while.

I have been wanting to start a newsletter/blog and found Substack to be ideal for this. Because I am not very methodical at work, and I am both too busy and too lazy to devote time to a serious publication of any kind, let alone a newsletter, each new project feels like a fresh scare. So I will use this space to help me process my own thoughts and share some of what I am up to, while trying not to irritate you or myself.

I expect to be as messy as usual, but I hope to find my way around.

What I intend to do:

Show and tell bits and pieces about my work and process.

Post some personal work or sketches that I am not sure where else to put them.

Share my participation in online art challenges like Peacetober (Which starts in a few days!), Folktale Week, Hourly comics day..etc.

Share any good news and explain what is the big deal.

Answer your questions to the best of my abilities.

Share a range of exciting to incredibly boring life experiences.

Share things I liked at a specific time!

Establish some meaningful connections.

Give a little glimpse of my meltdown moments, because life.

Other fun things…

Subscribe now

How often? how long?- I have no idea, but I will try to post at least monthly. And if there is a daily art challenge, I will definitely post more often.

I am not in a position to promise something you can not miss, but I am hoping this becomes something enjoyable and useful to you while you are online. If you are okay with that, please subscribe here:

I understand that this is a brief, fresh post with many gaps, but if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you for making it this far, and I hope to see you next time.