#RamadanReadathon 2020 Announcement

Salaam, friends! I’m so pleased to announce that #RamadanReadathon is back for another year. This readathon has a special place in my heart, and organising it has become an important part of my get-ready-for-Ramadan routine over the last four years.

This year, to coincide with the release of Once Upon An Eid on May 5, the readathon will be themed around the individual stories within the anthology. With so many of us looking to spend Ramadan and Eid in lockdown or apart from our loved ones, it’s a way for us to come together and highlight the joy that this time of year brings for Muslims.

What is #RamadanReadathon?

The purpose of this readathon is to celebrate and support Muslim authors during the holy month of Ramadan. This year, the readathon will take place between April 23 – May 23, 2020.

Whether or not you’ll be participating, you can follow @MuslimReadathon on Twitter and Instagram for all the updates, as well as #RamadanReadathon to share your progress throughout the month or see what everyone else is reading!

What is the theme?

The main focus for this year is Once Upon An Eid. This is an upcoming anthology of short stories from some of the best Muslim voices writing today, and each one perfectly captures the most joyful occasion in the Islamic calendar: Eid!

There are fifteen stories in total, so every other day of the month will spotlight an individual story and its author to celebrate and highlight how special this time of year is for Muslims.

The readathon element itself is unrestricted. There are no specific prompts to follow so you have free reign over your TBR. But, as always, the books must be written by Muslims and not just about Muslims.

What about Instagram prompts?

It wouldn’t be #RamadanReadathon without an Instagram photo challenge! If you can’t commit to reading any books but still want to support Muslim authors, this is an additional way you can get involved.

The prompts for this challenge relate back to the individual stories in Once Upon An Eid and the themes that run through them. You can interpret these prompts as you wish and participate in as many or as little as you’d like. Just remember to tag #RamadanReadathon and @MuslimReadathon in your posts so I can see and share your beautiful photos!

What else is happening?

I don’t want to give too much away in order to 1) keep an element of surprise and 2) not disappoint if things don’t end up happening. It’s a difficult and unpredictable time for all of us and that sadly means things may not always go according to plan, for whatever reason. As with previous years, there will (hopefully!) be some author interviews, Twitter chats, guest blogs and giveaways throughout the month but I can’t confirm anything at the moment.

How do I sign up?

There’s no official sign-up form but I always love seeing your TBRs! Feel free to use the event banner in any blog posts or on social media to announce that you’ll be taking part in the readathon.

If you’re unsure about what to read and need recommendations, one of my favourite places to look is #MuslimShelfSpace on Twitter and Instagram.

I also suggest checking out previous wrap-up posts for #RamadanReadathon as these include numerous recommendations lists from myself and other bloggers:

• Ramadan Readathon 2017
• Ramadan Readathon 2018
• Ramadan Readathon 2019

I also have a list of 2019 releases by Muslim authors, an ongoing list of 2020 releases by Muslim authors and this round-up of books by UK Muslim authors that I compiled last year.

None of these lists are exhaustive, but they’re great places to start if you’re looking to expand your #MuslimShelfSpace. And I’m always happy to share tailored recommendations if you’re looking for something specific. I obviously haven’t read everything, but I will do my best to try and help you find something that you’ll love!

It’s taken me far too long to officially announce this (because we’re in the middle of a global pandemic) but the good news is that there’s less than a week to go until #RamadanReadathon 2020 begins!

Will you be participating? Is it your first time? What will you be reading? Let me know in the comments!

If you are an author or blogger and would like to get involved this year, you can still get in touch via email: muslimreadathon@gmail.com – I would love to hear your ideas!