Doha: A Qatar-based 11-year-old student Laiba Abdul Basit has won the Guinness World Records as the youngest female person to publish a book series.
Laiba, hailing from the southern Indian state of Kerala, has accomplished this feat after her second book was published on August 29, 2021, while she was 10 years and 164 days old.
Laiba Abdul Basit surpassed the record of Ritaj Hussain Alhazmi of Saudi Arabia, who penned three novels before the age of 12 years 295 days.
Laiba published a three-book series called “Order of the Galaxy”, a fantasy story related to children’s fiction. The first book in this series titled “The War for The Stolen Boy” was published by Amazon and later by Lulu Online. The second book “The Snowflake of Life” was published by the Rome-based Tawasul International, while India-based Lipi Publications brought out the last book in the series, “The Book of Legends”. The second edition of her first and second books was also published by Lipi Publications.
A sixth grade student at the Olive International School, Doha, Laiba has been showing interest in reading and writing since the very young age. She started to write small stories and phrases on pieces of papers and used glue on walls of her house.
An ardent reader of fiction, science, religion, and biographies of prominent personalities, Laiba’s favourite authors include Enid Blyton, J K Rowling, Ann Frank, and Roald Dahl. Laiba inherited her passion for reading from her grandfathers, KM Abdur Raheem and Mohammed Parakkadavu, who were cultural and social activists in GCC. Support from her father Abdul Basit and mother Thasneem Mohammed has encouraged Laiba’s literary skills.