Dalia Al-Dujaili
Dalia Al-Dujaili | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dalia Mohamad Jamal Al-Dujaili 1999 (age 25–26) |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Website | daliaaldujaili |
Dalia Mohamad Jamal Al-Dujaili (born 1999) is an English writer and editor. She is currently the online editor of the British Journal of Photography (BJP). Her debut book Babylon, Albion was published in 2025.
Early life and education
[edit]Al-Dujaili was born in a village in Surrey to Iraqi parents; her father Mohamad is half-Egyptian and studied in Leeds, while her mother Zainab fled Iraq in the late 1980s.[1][2] She graduated in 2021 from the University of Edinburgh with a Scottish Master of Arts in English literature.[3]
Career
[edit]During university, Al-Dujaili entered the Edinburgh International Film Festival's journalism competition, through which she had her first review article about a documentary published in The Skinny. She also became Editor-in-Chief of a student publication called Mxgyny and started the newsletter Misfit.[1] In 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, she founded the magazine The Road to Nowhere.[4][5]
Upon graduating from university, Al-Dujaili was hired by the magazine It's Nice That to write articles on art and design. She became an editorial writer and digital editor at Azeema in 2021[1] and then community editor at Bricks in 2022.[6] She also had a column in This Orient.[7] In 2024, Al-Dujaili joined the BJP as Online Editor.[8]
After embarking on a camping trip to the Lake District with Max Girardeaux's group The Visionaries,[9][2] Al-Dujaili was inspired to create collages "placing British and Iraqi flora, mythic figures, and symbols side by side… threading her dual heritage into a single narrative arc".[10] This developed into her debut non-fiction book Babylon, Albion, published in 2025 via Saqi Books. The book intersects the natural world and physical land of Britain and Iraq with her identity.[11][12] Babylon, Albion was a Service95 Book Club recommendation.[13] In addition, Al-Dujaili edited Palestinian architect Sara Bokr's essay in the photography book Living Room.[14]
Bibliography
[edit]- Babylon, Albion (2025)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Chougar, Selma (5 March 2024). "Career Building: Dalia Al-Dujaili". Khamsa. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ a b Al-Dujaili, Dalia (21 June 2025). ""My family fled Iraq under Saddam Hussein – they found refuge in Britain's countryside"". Stylist. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Daisy and Dalia: Childhood excitement, happy folders and love over hate". University of Edinburgh. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Afthab, Zara (12 August 2022). "The Road To Nowhere, the new magazine devoted to diasporic identities". Dazed. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Angelos, Ayla (30 June 2022). "The Road to Nowhere". Port. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Meet Dalia, Our New Community Editor". Bricks Magazine. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Columns: Dalia Al-Dujaili Column". This Orient. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ "Dalia Al-Dujaili". The British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ^ Onsori, Zahra (14 May 2025). "Dalia Al-Dujaili: "When you're placeless, nature can fill the void"". Huck. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ Baladi, Lamia (12 May 2025). "Dalia Al-Dujaili's Debut Book 'Babylon, Albion' Is a New Kind of Origin Story". Savoir Flair. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ Ghaffar, Laila (5 May 2025). "Babylon, Albion by Dalia Al-Dujaili". The Skinny. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ Afthab, Zara (8 May 2025). "Babylon, Albion untangles the relationship between identity and land". Dazed. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Book Review: Babylon, Albion by Dalia Al-Dujaili". Service95. 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ Sukjong Hong (21 February 2025). "Where Gold Paint, Fringe, and Crystal Chandeliers Meet". Curbed. Retrieved 8 April 2025.