Editorial Committee
Our Editorial Committee
At Agafay Books, every manuscript is read by people who have spent their lives in service of literature, education, and the arts.
Our editorial committee brings together three individuals with distinct backgrounds: literary education, pedagogy, and cultural creation. They are united by a single conviction: that Moroccan readers, at every age, deserve books that are literarily worthy, culturally honest, and genuinely meaningful.
For us, publishing is not a commercial act. It is a responsibility.
Khadija El Hanai — Editorial Committee
Literary, Linguistic & Cultural Consultant
Khadija El Hanai brings to the Agafay Books editorial committee a lifetime dedicated to literature, education, and the arts in Morocco, and a rare ability to read a manuscript through both a literary and a linguistic lens.
Holder of a Diploma of Advanced Studies from the Université de Caen Normandie, specialising in the Theory of Literature Teaching with a focus on the semiotics of comic theatre, she has built a career that bridges academic rigour and creative practice.
For nearly four decades, she taught French language in Moroccan public schools and at the Institut Français, while simultaneously running school theatre workshops for young people, a commitment she maintained from 1985 to 2023. She also taught French through theatre at the Institut Français, developing an approach that placed artistic expression at the heart of language learning.
Her deep proficiency in both Arabic and French, and her lifelong engagement with the textures and rhythms of both languages, makes her uniquely positioned to assess the linguistic quality, cultural authenticity, and cross-cultural resonance of every manuscript that passes through Agafay Books.
A recognised artist in her own right, Mrs. El Hanai has participated in school theatre and cinema competitions across Morocco, receiving awards for best direction, best educational film, and best theatrical work, including a celebrated adaptation of Molière. Her documentary work was also awarded at Cadi Ayyad University.
Beyond teaching, she translates, adapts, and writes dramatic texts, bringing the full sensibility of a practising author to her reading of every manuscript.
Her presence on the committee reflects our commitment to publishing works that are literarily demanding, culturally rooted, and genuinely meaningful for young Moroccan readers, in whichever language they choose to read.
Abdelali Lakhdar — Editorial Committee
Pedagogical & Cultural Consultant
Abdelali Lakhdar has been part of the Agafay Books editorial committee since its founding, bringing to the project over 25 years of experience across two countries and two educational cultures.
Born in Casablanca, he holds degrees in Mathematics from the École Normale Supérieure in Rabat and in Financial Mathematics from the Dresden University of Technology. He taught mathematics at secondary and higher levels in both Morocco and Germany, developing over the course of his career a deep understanding of how children learn, reason, and engage with knowledge.
His experience across two distinct educational systems gave him an exceptional comparative perspective on pedagogy, curriculum design, and the role of cultural context in how children receive and interpret stories. This dual immersion, Moroccan and German, sharpened both his analytical rigour and his sensitivity to cultural difference.
As a specialist in pedagogy and intercultural approaches, Mr. Lakhdar brings to every editorial discussion a rare ability to assess whether a book speaks meaningfully to children from different backgrounds and traditions. His presence on the committee reflects a core belief at Agafay Books: that a great children’s book is not only a literary achievement. It is also a pedagogical one.
Nathalie Bonfils — Editorial Committee
Artistic & Child Development Consultant
Nathalie Bonfils brings to the Agafay Books editorial committee a background shaped by art, nature, storytelling, and a lifelong openness to the world.
Born and raised in Paris, she later settled in the Haute-Savoie region near Chamonix, where she immersed herself in mountain culture and local life. It was there that she created a mobile pottery and modelling workshop, bringing creative expression into schools and retirement homes and developing, in the process, a rare understanding of how art touches individuals at every stage of life.
During the same period, she worked as a press correspondent for Le Dauphiné Libéré and was actively involved in the cultural life of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, including its Mont-Blanc International Humor Festival. These roles placed her at the heart of cultural programming and artistic creation.
For the past twelve years, she has lived in the countryside near Marrakech, where she works as an energy therapist and draws constant inspiration from nature for the stories she writes, for both children and adults.
As an author and a grandmother, she evaluates manuscripts with both a literary and a human eye, always returning to the same essential question: will this story help awaken the child who reads it?
Her presence on the committee reflects a conviction at the heart of Agafay Books: that great books are born at the intersection of art, life experience, and a sincere love for the reader.
