Bothayna Al-Essa is a novelist from Kuwait. Born in 1982, she holds a Master’s in business administration from Kuwait University. She is the co-founder of Takween (a cultural platform, bookstore, and publishing house) and the author of ten novels, the most notable of which include: Lost in Mecca and All That I Want to Forget, which have been translated into English; Under the Feet of Mothers, which has been translated into Persian (as ‎بهشت مامان غيضه); and Guardian of Superficialities, which will be published in English in 2024. Furthermore, Al-Essa has written books on writing and has offered writing workshops throughout the Arab region. She has been writing full-time since 2013 and won Kuwait’s National Encouragement Award twice for her fiction: in 2003 and 2012.