Finally, it’s released!

Officially launched The Man of Middling Height by Syracuse University Press. My 4th published book in English, and one of my most creative work. A story imagining a parallel world where people are divided by their height, rather than sex. It was a cool though experiment, exploring the complexity of gender with all the nuances around it as we deal with it a large in today’s world.

There is literally no other literary work quite like this particular novel – neither in the Arab world nor outside of it.

– Cheryl Toman, Professor of French and Chair, Modern Languages and Classics at The University of Alabama.

Photo Credit – Rachel Winder First Steps

Writing the story in Arabic wasn’t an easy feat. Imagining a society with different rules, customs and traditions that are alien to us, yet so close to the way we divide ourselves and discriminate among each others, was a challenge. I took the first steps and started writing it not knowing where the story will take me, but word by word, page by page, I found myself, at the end, writing a unique story like no other.

Self Publishing

Finding an Arabic publisher for the book was a challenge in itself. Trying to do this in 2020, during the peak of COVID posed another obstacle as the whole publishing industry was struggling. Rejections accumulated – around a dozen or so without clear explanations. At the time, I was contemplating self publishing, and Jamalon (RIP -Jordanian most successful online book retailer at the time) offered print on demand service. I opted for it, and released the book, which might have not seen the light of the day otherwise. It was out in print, and I was super happy, yet the logistics of importing papers from China during COVID, meant that Jamalon couldn’t meet the demand. But since the book was out, and in demand, I was able to sign a deal with Jordanian publisher Dar Al Ahleyya, and publish it again the traditional way.

It got released in Jan 2021, the peak of the second wave of COVID, which killed my own father. When he was in the ICU, in his last days, fighting this monster, I flew from Dubai to Amman to see him. In one of the most difficult and crazy times in my life, in a day we had hope that dad might survive and recover from it, I passed by virgin megastore and found the book listed as a top best seller. But that moment wasn’t a happy one, with dad in the hospital fighting for his breath.

Zaghmout’s The Man of Middling Height is a fascinating and thought provoking look at the dangers of dividing humans and the power of language to frame how we see ourselves.

— Abdi Nazemian, Stonewall and Lambda Award Winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment

Ebra Wa Kushtuban top best seller

Anyway, although I will never forget those difficult days, there is no need for the drama today with the book getting released in English.

Finding an English publisher was a challenge in itself. I asked my dear friend Wasan Abdelhaq to translate first few chapters, and submitted the book to few English publishers initially. I waited and waited, and wasn’t successful. Later on, I asked her to translate the whole thing, which she thankfully did. At the time, Ms. Cheryl Toman, Professor of French and Chair, Modern Languages and Classics at The University of Alabama., a dear friend and long time supporter, pointed out that Syracuse University Press, were back into accepting submissions for their well known Middle Eastern Literature Series. She shared the form with me, and offered a subvention to support my application, along with writing an amazing afterward for the book!

Zaghmout’s ingenious satirical concept sets out to do for gender injustice what Majorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses set out to do for racism.

—Patrick Gale, author of the bestselling novel Take Nothing With You

Among Syracuse University Press’s Fall collectionSyracus University Press

I submitted the application and waited for few months. Meanwhile, Wasan Abdelhaq finished the first draft of the translation, which was great, but needed revision, especially instances that deal with gender and language. Thankfully Fil Inocencio Jr., who was visiting me in Abu Dhabi, and is an amazing writer himself, stepped up to helping me editing it. When Syracuse asked for the whole manuscript, we were ready to send one in proper condition!

The process of accepting the book took around a year. Three months after submitting the form, we got the initial feedback by their series editors. Then we had to wait for peer reviews, which took another three months. Based on the reviews, I had to do some revisions. After the revisions were done, it was reviewed by the series editors again, then presented to the board for final approval. Their acquisition manager, Laura Fish, was so helpful during the whole process. A year later, we had the contract signed!

From there, the work on the book progressed fast, editing, proof reading, cover design, marketing, PR, setting a release date. It was all exciting. Fast forward to today, the book is NOW OUT IN ENGLISH!

The Man of Middling Height is original and of great importance.

— Omar Sayfo, author of Allah’s Spacious Earth.

Backcover – Photo Credit Cheryl TomanSpecial ThanksCheryl Toman – for all the support she provided for this work, encouragement, subvention and writing the generous afterward which I will share with all of you later.Wasan Abdulhaq – for translating the book.Fil Inocencio Jr. – for editing the work before submitting to Syracuse.Syracuse team – for all the work they put into publishing this book in the best way possible.Writers: Patrick Gale, Abdi Nazemi and Omar Sayfo, for their blurbs.A brief about the book

What if our society’s deepest prejudices weren’t about race, gender, or sexuality—but height? In his groundbreaking allegorical novel, acclaimed Jordanian author and activist Fadi Zaghmout imagines just such a world, crafting a powerful meditation on discrimination and desire that speaks directly to our contemporary debates about identity and inclusion.

The Man of Middling Height follows a short dressmaker whose life is upended when she meets Tallan, a man whose middle height places him outside the rigid tall/short binary that governs their society. As their forbidden romance blossoms, they must navigate a world where height determines everything from social status to romantic possibilities. Through their story and those of surrounding characters—including a short person in a polyamorous relationship with two tall partners, and a tall activist who scandalously loves another tall person—Zaghmout deftly reframes contemporary discussions about gender identity and sexuality through the lens of height discrimination.