Nasser al-Hejailan

Nasser Saleh al-Hejailan (born 1970) is a Saudi academic, author, writer, and translator. He is a former faculty member and Dean of Library Affairs at King Saud University. Former Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Cultural Affairs.

Nasser al-Hejailan was born in Hail City, where he received his early education. He enrolled at King Saud University in Riyadh and earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic Language and Literature in 1990. He pursued further studies and obtained a master's degree in Arabic Literature from the same university in 1995. Later, he was sent on a scholarship to the United States, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy with a specialization in cultural criticism from Indiana University in 2007.

Nasser al-Hejailan began his career as a teacher in general education in Hail before moving to Riyadh. He later joined King Saud University, where he held various positions, starting as a lecturer and then as an assistant professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature. He went on to serve as the Dean of Library Affairs and Vice President of the Dialects and Folklore Society. He also taught at Indiana University, where he chaired the Cultural Club. In 2011, he was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Cultural Affairs (previously).

In the field of journalism, he worked as an editor for the first and second issues of "al-Khitab al-Thaqafi" Magazine and served as Editor-in-Chief of "al-Khumaysiyyah" Magazine, published by the Hamad al-Jasser Cultural Center. He also wrote an almost daily column in "al-Riyadh" Newspaper.

He participated in several cultural and social memberships, including being a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hamad al-Jasser Charitable Foundation, the Advisory Board for Culture, the Scientific Committee of the Abdulaziz al-Mana Chair for Literary and Linguistic Studies at King Saud University, the Advisory Committee for the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at King Saud University, and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

Nasser al-Hejailan authored several works, including the book "The Character in the Stories of Arabic Proverbs: A Study of the Cultural Patterns of the Arab Character." He also translated a number of books, such as "Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World" by James Lindsay, published as part of the Kalima Project at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi; "The Short Story: The Reality of Artifice, Toward an Assessment of Historical Development and a Study of the Short Story’s Qualitative Characteristics" by Charles May; and "How to Analyze Fiction: Step-by-Step Guidelines and Principles of Criticism and Analysis" by William Kenney.

He also published several studies in Arabic and English, including "The Religious Refrain in the Speech of Saudis" and "Viewing the World Through the Character’s Perspective in Stories".

He presented numerous papers at seminars and conferences, such as "The Cultural Formation of Character: A Study of Beliefs and Popular Perceptions in Hamza Bogary's Novel "Saqifat al-Safa" and an introduction to the seminar "The Utilization of Folklore," organized by the Dialects and Folklore Society at King Saud University.