Laala Kashef Alghata is a twice-published poet and novelist, student and the editor of the poetry journal Write Me a Metaphor. Her debut novel made her the first Bahraini to publish a book directly in English. Her latest book, "Behind the Mask: A Folded Heart" (2006) is a poetry and prose collection, and is currently available on Amazon.co.uk. She is published extensively online, being a poet-in-residence in both Soul to Soul and ArgoBoat, and appearing in poetry journals and magazines such as All Things Girl, Argotist Online, La Fenetr, Kritya and elsewhere. She writes regularly for both the Bahrain and Kuwait issues of Clientele, a lifestyle magazine, and lives in Bahrain. .