Zaher Omareen is a Syrian researcher and writer who has published articles and short stories in the Arab and English press. His short story “First Safety Maneuver” won a prize awarded by the Danish Institute in Damascus and by the 2012 Copenhagen Festival of Literature.
He has worked on independent cultural initiatives in Syria and Europe, and co-curated exhibitions on the art of the Syrian uprising. He studied media, journalism, and theatrical and dramatic arts in Damascus, and holds a MA in media and cultural studies from Sussex University. He is a PhD candidate in contemporary documentary cinema and new media at Goldsmiths College, London, and is completing Tales of the Orontes River, a collection of short stories drawn from the collective memories of the 1982 Hama massacre. Zaher recently co-edited and published Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Frontline (Saqi, 2014) which discusses the artistic and culture outcomes of the Syrian uprising.