Collecting Readers,
For Every Writer

Write. Belong. Be Read.

Meet the Team

Sahab Collective is led by practising writers and educators, supported by a growing team of creatives. Together, we work toward a shared ethos:

Write. Belong. Be Read.

Founded in Dubai, Sahab Collective began as a creative writing programme designed to bring writers into sustained dialogue with one another. With the continued commitment of our community, we have since established ourselves as an independent publishing house in the United Kingdom and continue to develop The Sahab Collective Journal as a space for ongoing literary exchange.

Rooted in the UAE’s evolving creative landscape, Sahab Collective supports a model of writer-led development that is rigorous, collaborative, and deeply attentive to voice. Our work is guided by the belief that writing becomes meaningful through readership, and that community is essential to that process.

We remain open to collaboration, new partnerships, and the continued expansion of our programmes and publishing initiatives.

Meet the Team

Louis Garratt
Publisher, Director, Programme Leader

Writer, publisher, and educator. Louis has three children's books published in the UK. Founded Sahab Collective to centre a creative community in Dubai.
Dr Cybele Yazbeck
Managing Director

Performer and dentist, co-founder of Sahab Collective; devoted to the arts, where voice, care, and creativity converge into practice.
Aekta Khubchandani
Writer, Educator, Editor

Award-winning writer and poet. Instructor for poetry, and hybrid work. Loves to consider grief (personal and political) with grace, enjoy silent films and paintings.
Aditya Basu
Screenwriter, Creative Instructor

Writer of Bloody Daddy (Filmfare OTT nominee), bringing nineteen years of experience in documentary, indies and mainstream. Developed scripts for Netflix and SonyLiv. 
Samar Abdel Jabar
Literary Writer, Poet

Samar Abdel Jaber is an Arabic-speaking Palestinian poet and author of four poetry collections, including What If We Were Ghosts, which won the A.M. Qattan Foundation Young Writer Award. 
Akbar Hassan
Writer, Artist, Visual Storyteller

Author of a graphic novel with Sandstorm Comics. Passionate about storytelling through visual mediums like film and comics. Directed a short film adaptation of, Lacrimosa, a graphic novel.
Lara Chamsi Bacha
Mentor, Editor

Lara is a Lebanese poet, mentor for young writers, and editor, with a background in journalism and experience supporting literary communities and emerging voices.
Dr Munir Zamir
Writing Fellow, Spoken Word Performer

Writer and spoken word performer whose work explores identity, disability, creativity, and belonging. As a Writing Fellow, he brings a thoughtful and original voice to the collective.
Danabelle Gutierrez
Writer, Performer, Editor

Writer and interdisciplinary artist.  Her work spans poetry, performance, and visual practice. Her editorial sensibility is shaped by her approach to language, form, and expression.
Ibrahim Zamir
Research Fellow, Editor

Ibrahim explores contemporary publishing, literary practice, and advances Sahab’s reader–writer ecology through theory, reading, and applied writing frameworks.
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