Naim Ibrahim Attallah (, 1 May 1931 – 2 February 2021) was a Palestinian-British businessman and writer. He was the publisher of Quartet Books and the owner of

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, The Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofo ...

. The

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

-born entrepreneur was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in 2000 as a "legendary adorer of beautiful women". Attallah was born in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1931 to a Catholic family. He was the owner of the publishing house Quartet Books, which was founded in 1972 by Ken Banerji, John Boothe, William Miller and Brian Thompson, and taken over by Attallah in 1976. Attallah was a backer of the ''

Literary Review ''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years b ...

'' and ''

The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...

''. He was also the owner of the London-based The Women's Press, established in 1977; it was founded by him and Stephanie Dowrick. In 1990, he became joint managing director of jewellers,

Asprey Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books. With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for ro ...

. In 1992, he became group chief executive. Attallah's book of memoirs, ''Fulfilment and Betrayal: 1975–1995'', was published in 2007. According to

Jennie Erdal Jennifer Elizabeth Wilkie Erdal, ''née'' Crawford; first married name Bradshaw, known as Jennie Erdal (2 February 1951 – 23 May 2020) was a Scottish writer. She was the author of ''Ghosting'', a memoir of her childhood in a Fife mining villag ...

's 2005 memoir ''Ghosting'', she was the ghostwriter of “speeches, newspaper articles, a dozen works of nonfiction and two novels” in addition to “hundreds of letters” The last part of her book’s dedication states that he “inspired this story and allowed it to be told.” Attallah was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to literature and the arts. Attallah died in his sleep after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on February 2, 2021.

Books

* ''Fulfilment and Betrayal: 1975–1995'', Quartet Books, 2007, * ''In Touch with his Roots'', Quartet Books, 2006, * ''The Boy in England'', Quartet Books, 2005, * ''The Old Ladies of Nazareth'', London: Quartet Books, 2004, * ''Dialogues'', Quartet Books, 2000, * ''Insights'', Quartet Books, 1999, * ''In Conversation with Naim Attallah'', London: Quartet Books, 1998, * ''A Woman a Week'', Quartet Books, 1998, * ''Tara and Claire'', Quartet Books, 1997, * ''Asking Questions: An Anthology of Interviews with Naim Attallah'' (with Charlotte Smith), 1996, * ''A Timeless Passion'', Quartet Books, 1995, * ''Speaking for the Oldie'', Quartet Books, 1994, * ''More of a Certain Age'', Quartet Books, 1994, * ''Of a Certain Age'', Quartet Books, 1993, * ''Singular Encounters'', Quartet Books, 1992, * ''Women'', Quartet Books, 1988,

References

* Intervie
''The Times''.

External links

"Naim Attallah Online".
* * Sally Weale

''

'', 27 November 2000 – profile of Naim Attallah. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Attalah, Naim 1931 births 2021 deaths British book publishing company founders British Catholics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England Palestinian businesspeople Palestinian Catholics Palestinian emigrants to the United Kingdom