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Abdo Khal was born in 1962 in Al-Majanah, Saudi Arabia, and is currently based in Jeddah. Among Saudi writers who are experimenting with new forms and ideas, Abdo Khal is well-known both locally and in the wider Arab world. He has written a number of novels including Cities Eating Grass, Immorality, The Mud, Death Passes from Here, Days Don’t Hide Anyone and Barking, as well as several collections of short stories.

The centre of his fictional universe is the village where he was born and which he left at young age with his family in search of a better life. Like their maker, Khal’s heroes come from marginal groups and struggle for salvation.
Khal writes in a distinctive, identifiable style blending classical and colloquial Arabic and the southern and Hijazi dialects.

He also teaches Arabic to sixth graders at a government school. Unfortunately, Khal’s books are not available in the Kingdom though they have been published in Europe and Beirut. One of his short stories, however, recently found its way into Banipal, a British magazine which publishes Arabic literature in translation.

Abdo Khal’s latest book, She Throws Sparks, has been shortlisted for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.