Saudi political analyst, academic, novelist and liberal reformer. Turki al-Hamad's publication of Adama (1998), the first instalment of his sweeping trilogy, banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, has sold some 20,000 to his readers' delight. His second novel, Shumaisi, in the trilogy published in English, in November 2004, to impressive reviews. Turki al-Hamad wishes to give the real picture of Saudi society, whose 70 per cent of the population are under the age of 30. His novels provide an insider's view of early 1970s - just before oil made Saudi Arabia immensely wealthy - and the foundations of today's secretive and closed society. Turki al-Hamid lives and publishes in Riyadh even though religious authorities constrict public debate. He is finishing a novel about 9/11 and the lives of four hijackers.