Author's Biography ( Novel Negeri 5 Menara)

Ahmad Fuadi was born in Bayur, a small village on the edge of Lake Maninjau in 1972, West Sumatra. Fuadi traveled to Java to fulfill his mother's request that he attend a religious school. At Pondok Modern Gontor (Gontor Modern Pesantren), he met kiai and ustad who were blessed with sincerity to teach knowledge of this world and the next. Upon graduating with a degree in International Relations from Padjadjaran University, he became a journalist for Tempo magazine. His first class in journalism was done in reporting assignments under the guidance of senior Tempo journalists. In 1999, he received a Fulbright scholarship to take his master's degree at the School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University, USA. Venturing to Washington, D.C. together with Yayi, his wife--also a Tempo journalist--was a childhood dream comes true. While studying, they were also Tempo correspondents and reporters for Voice of America (VOA). They reported on historical news, such as the 9-11 tragedy, straight from the Pentagon, White House, and Capitol Hill.

In 2004, another world window opened when he received the Chevening Award scholarship to study documentary films at Royal Holloway, University of London. As a scholarship hunter, Fuadi is always enthusiastic to continue his education and find more scholarships. He has had opportunities to live and study in Canada, Singapore, USA, and the UK. Negeri 5 Menara (The Land of Five Towers) has won several awards, including the 2010 Khatulistiwa Literary Award (Long List) and the 2010 Favorite Fiction Writer and Book from the Indonesian Readers Awards. In 2011, Fuadi was awarded Liputan6 Award SCTV for Education and Motivation Category.