Algerian woman’s book sales exceed Prince Harry’s memoir

A 24-year-old Algerian writer who calls herself ‘The Blurred Girl’ has caused a stir in Algeria and France after her books achieved a large number of sales and reads on the Internet.

The Algerian writer, who writes under the pseudonym Sarah Rivens, quickly became one of the most read Algerian writers of all time after she published three novels in French, all of which topped the bestseller lists and e-book lists in France. The French press even dubbed her a phenomenon, as her first novel, Captive, was read some nine million times by Wattpad users. The second installment in the series was read by more than eight million people, according to Al-Arabiya Net.

This success has led to publishing companies competing for the rights to her books, even though they are available for free online. Hundreds of thousands of copies of the books have, however, been sold and they have been translated into nine languages to dates. Figures show that the series has surpassed sales of Prince Harry’s book Spare, with profits estimated to have exceeded €3.5 million ($3.8 million) in France alone.

The real identity of the Blurred Girl remains a mystery, however it is believed she is 24 years old and works as an administrative agent in a sports centre in Alger Centre in the Algerian capital Algiers.

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