Sara Hamdan: How a Top-tier Banker Became an Award-Winning Wordsmith

Meet Sara Hamdan: the all-star third-culture-kid-turned-tech-guru who's got a knack for shaking up the internet, one story at a time. Part Arab-American, part Grecian spirit, Sara is as dynamic as they come and currently holds court in the pulsating heart of Dubai.

Let's set the scene: we're at Protocol Labs, where Sara wields her digital scepter as Managing Editor. She's the force behind all the written content; thought leadership, engaging blog posts, newsletters and then some. If it's buzzing, she's covering it.

With 15 years of experience tucked under her belt, Sara's resume reads like a tech enthusiast's dream. Merrill Lynch banker, NY Times journalist, Google editor – she's done it all and then some. But it doesn't stop at business and tech, no, Sara's talents are layered. Her pen is mightier than the keyboard, with her short story clinching a prestigious Netflix competition and a debut novel earning her a coveted spot in the Emirates Literature Foundation First Chapter: Seddiqi Fellowship.

But Sara's not your typical 9-to-5 powerhouse. In her downtime, she's busy swapping Google Docs for Microsoft Word, evolving her award-winning short story into a full-fledged novel. Spoiler alert: it's about a female Arab-American stand-up comedian – a character as uniquely charming as Sara herself.

She's got an insatiable wanderlust and has freelanced for travel industry bigwigs like The International New York Times, Travel + Leisure, and Fast Company. Oh, and did I mention she runs 'Holidays in Heels', a luxury hotel review blog that's one part Ritz-Carlton, one part beachside cabana?

From her 20k-strong Instagram following to her two adorable kids, Sara's career and life is full, and her insights are numerous. You'll find her living it up in Dubai, balancing work, family, and a healthy obsession with reading (always with a book in hand, she swears).

"I was always competitive," she reminisces, harking back to her days at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. She had graduated with honors in three years flat - a major achievement. But what followed was nothing short of a movie script. A lucky internship at Merrill Lynch in London led to a plush job offer in their Dubai office. Who'd say no to that? Not Sara, she confesses, "As a lover of travel, I jumped at the opportunity."

But beneath the suit and tie, Sara was a storyteller waiting for her moment. It came in the most unexpected way. “While leafing through a business magazine, I saw an open call for pitches from the editor and submitted a short story about an IPO on a whim. I got a call the next morning with a job offer as a staff writer. The pay in journalism isn’t great, but we do it for the passion!” she chuckles.

That one leap of faith catapulted her into the UAE media scene. She wrote about business, art, and culture for the NY Times for a solid six years. She even ended up interviewing her future husband.

Today at Protocol Labs, she’s bringing to light stories on everything from machine learning to generative AI and cloud storage. And she loves every second of it, "I love my current job at Protocol Labs, where I’m managing editor in charge of sharing stories about companies within our global network, spanning topics including machine learning, generative AI and cloud storage with a fantastic team.”

So, if you want the scoop on the next big thing in tech, need a top-notch hotel recommendation, or simply want a healthy dose of literature inspiration, look no further. Sara Hamdan is the internet-savvy, globe-trotting, award-winning writer you maybe didn't know you needed in your life.

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Sara, you just won an incredible two-book deal with Holt in the US. Can you share with us your initial reaction when you found out that your debut novel, 'What Will People Think,' was selected after an auction?

My lifelong dream was to write a novel, but as demands of life grew (Work! Kids! Pandemic!), the dream felt like it was slipping further and further away from me. I started writing the novel 9 years ago while pregnant with my son, Adam. I started and stopped a lot along the way, but was quite disciplined in giving myself 30 min every morning to write. By the time the pandemic was over, I had written and heavily edited two complete manuscripts. I went through the low of agent rejections and feeling like this was never going to happen for me.

Then, one beautiful afternoon, I got an email saying I won an award for a Netflix short story contest I had randomly entered on Twitter (and completely forgotten about). In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, I went to London and twirled around in a stunning Rami Al Ali dress to accept a gold award. It was a nice change from living in leggings and a mom bun. After that, I started to believe in myself a little more as a writer.

I then won a coveted spot in the ELF First Chapter Seddiqi Writers Fellowship, which included a year of mentorship. With a polished novel and a couple of awards under my belt, I was able to get the most wonderful agents: Meredith Miller of United Talent Agency in NY and Sheila Crowley of Curtis Brown in London.  We went on submission for the novel in Feb 2023 and I was shocked that a bidding war took place between three of the top five publishers.

The winning bid went to the prestigious Henry Holt imprint of Macmillan, publisher of the likes of Toni Morrison, Hilary Mantel, Liane Moriarty and memoirs by Mariah Carey and Matthew Perry. I woke up to the news, jumped up and down with my husband, while trying to reassure my kids that these are “happy tears!”

Being the first person in the region to achieve such a feat must be incredibly exciting. How does it feel to have broken new ground as an author from Dubai?

Dubai is an incredible city that doesn’t believe in limits. Tallest tower? No problem! The same mentality inspired me to dream big. This book deal is a regional first in terms of size and scale — it’s the first time an author from the Arab world secures a two book deal with a major US publisher like this. I couldn’t be more proud to have written it in this city of dreams and I’m overcome with emotion when I see how much support I’ve gotten from the community already — even though publication is in early 2025.

Can you tell us a bit about the novel? What inspired you to write this story?

Pitched as Marvelous Mrs Maisel meets Crazy Rich Asians, What Will People Think? Is about Mia, a Palestinian American in Manhattan who works at a magazine publishing house by day and secretly performs standup comedy at night. When she discovers her grandmother’s diary about an illicit affair with a British soldier dating back to Palestine in 1947, her tidy world threatens to fall apart.

They say to write about what you know and I wanted to explore the contradictions of what it means to be a Palestinian American young woman, trying to be like your friends and trying to please your family. A happy misfit.

Are there any recurring themes or topics that you enjoy exploring in your writing?

The book is funny and light in the modern day sections, but with substance and poetic prose in the diary sections. I wanted to write a book with a strong Arab female lead because I rarely come across this reflection in movies, books and even the news. The themes are around a woman’s right to pursue her passions and love who she wants to love.

As an author from Dubai, do you feel that your cultural background and experiences influenced your writing? If so, in what ways?

Absolutely! Living in so many different countries and telling stories about people from all over the world has given me a unique ability to write a story with universal themes: family acceptance, office crushes, importance of female friendships. It’s just told through a fresh lens of a funny Arab woman.

I started writing this novel 9 years ago and stopped when The Marvelous Mrs Maisel came out because I worried my idea of a female standup comedian would no longer feel original, but Mia’s story is unique. And she’s also a quintessential New Yorker following her dreams.

What challenges did you face during the writing and publishing process, and how did you overcome them?

Writing a novel had to become a priority at a time when so many other important things needed my attention: kids, a demanding job, a household. I was disciplined and efficient, but took breaks when needed. At one point during the pandemic, we lost a very dear friend and I couldn’t write for months. Then there were the agent rejections, the months of waiting for an answer, the uncertainty of the pandemic’s impact on the publishing industry. My husband was my greatest support, along with my sister.

Why did I push through? I don’t really know. Coming back to my laptop again and again felt like coming home. Writing is a calling for me and it became about the joy of telling stories, rather than focusing on the outcome of getting published. That gave me the freedom to write a story that really comes from the heart, which resonated with publishers, and will hopefully resonate with readers.

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Are there any authors or books that have had a significant influence on your writing? If so, who are they and why have they inspired you?

I read so much. Maybe a book per week. I love watching TV shows and movies, too. Everything influences me - a phrase here, an outfit there. Literary influences include Naguib Mahfouz and Elena Ferrante for making setting an integral part of a story. Margaret Atwood and Shirley Jackson for character-driven works that build suspense.

How do you approach the research process for your novels? Are there any particular sources or methods you rely on to ensure accuracy and authenticity in your storytelling?

A mix. Audiences can tell when something doesn’t ring true - you can’t fool people. This novel is fiction, but full of true emotion. I’m a journalist, so factually accurate research is second nature to me. For historical references to the Palestinian conflict, I relied on various sources including the National British Army website and first hand anecdotes from my own grandmother. The 25 year old Mia’s experiences in New York, sitting around a table with friends asking her ignorant questions about the Middle East - much of that is rooted in my personal experience when I lived in the city.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers or journalists? Are there any particular skills or experiences that you believe are essential for success in these fields?

Just write. Don’t overthink it. Read broadly. Travel to meet interesting people and see cool places. Find a support group. The more you see, read and write, the more you will enrich your own work.

Images courtesy of: Sara Hamdan