Sara al-Jarwan
Sara al-Jarwan (; born 1969) is an Emirati novelist, short story writer and playwright. Born in Ajman, she joined the UAE armed forces as a soldier just before the 1991 Gulf War. This experience was the basis of a book ("Yawmiyaat Mujannada" or "Diary of a Recruit") as well as a play. She also served as an editor of "Dara al-Watan", the magazine of the armed forces. She is regarded as the first Emirati woman to have published a novel ("Shajan Bint Al-Qadar Al-Hazeen", published in 1992). Since then, she has written three more  novels, a short story collection, and a book of Emirati folk tales. She has won several awards including the Best Emirati Book prize in 2003 and the Al Owais Prize for best novel in 2012. She was a participant in the 2012 IPAF Nadwa. Her work has appeared in translation in Banipal magazine.