The 4th Annual Beth Nahrain Writers Conference took place online earlier this month and celebrated the books and achievements of Chaldean authors. Previously held at the Chaldean Cultural Center, the Chaldean Community Foundation, and Oakland University (MI), this year’s event was held online for the growing global community of writers and participants interested in subjects relating to Mesopotamia. Headlining the event were authors Weam Namou, Jacob Bacall, Fr. John Jwad, and Fr. Michael Bazzi, and the moderator was Christina Oraha.
Weam Namou, who opened and closed the conference with discussion on her eight most recent books, started by enlightening viewers on three historical Chaldean figures she had written tomes on: from the 17th century – Elias Al-Musili, the journey of a Chaldean priest and adventurer in the Americas; from the 19th century – the story of Maria Teresa Asmar, an indefatigable journeywoman from Tilkepe, Iraq; and Fr. Joseph Nayeem, whose moral courage during the 1915 genocide provides inspiration to the modern-day reader. Next, Ms. Namou shared about a series of four books she had written for children inspired by her time as the Executive Director of the Chaldean Cultural Center called, the Magical Museum Series. Lastly, Weam shared about Pomegranate, her romantic comedy book turned movie. The setting for Pomegranate is Sterling Heights, MI, and the film has won over 50 awards at international film festivals. A special showing of the movie, Pomegranate, will take place at 3pm at the Emagine Theater in Royal Oak, MI, on Sunday December 7th. To buy tickets visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pomegranate-film-screening-tickets-1966404654255 Pomegranate is on many streaming platforms. To view the trailer visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usBH2x72t0Q Weam Namou’s books are available on
Amazon and you may also learn more at Weam’s home page: https://WeamNamou.com
Next, Fr. John Jwad, Associate Priest at St. John’s Chaldean Catholic Church in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, shared the story – from initial idea to completed, consecrated, structure – of the first Chaldean Catholic Church in Alberta, Canada. Although the first Chaldean community in North America was in Canada -Thunder Bay, Ontario – until 2025 a church for Chaldeans in Calgary did not exist. For those wanting to learn more about this beautiful story and church community, please visit: www.stjohncalgary.org
The next author to speak was historian and businessman Jacob Bacall, co-author with Bishop Bawai Soro, of Chaldean Catholic Church. A four-time author, Mr. Bacall, shared the journey from the early Chaldean spiritual communities in Iraq to the modern Chaldean Catholic Church in North America, including both the United States and Canada. This book was fortified by many photographs which Jacob assembled to support the written word and document the growth and struggles of the Chaldean community to provide a spiritual safeguard for Chaldeans in their new homeland. Copies of Chaldean Catholic Church and Jacob’s other works may be found in many Michigan bookstores, Amazon, and other distributors, or at Arcadia Publishing’s website: www.arcadiapublishing.com
Presenting Fr. Michael Bazzi’s book, The Life of Tilkepnaye, was his publisher and former student, Roy Gessford, of Let in the Light Publishing. Mr. Gessford shared about what village life in Tilkepe, Iraq, (10 km form Mosul) was like before the village was overtaken by ISIS in 2014. Building on Fr. Bazzi’s 1969 book, Tilkepe: Past and Present, Roy focused on the closeness of the Aramaic speaking villagers to the activities of the church during planting, harvest, and festival seasons. Fr. Bazzi joined the conference via telephone and answered questions relating to the book as well as joining a conversation on the Chaldean community at large. For more information on The Life of Tilkepnaye, or any other of Fr. Michael’s 14 books, visit: www.letinthelightpublishing.com or any major book distributor.
The entire 2025 Beth Nahrain conference is available for viewing for anyone interested at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bg97lLfF2E&t=10568s Moderator Christina Oraha does a marvelous job of keeping the event flowing during the three hours of presentations. This is an event anyone from the Chaldean community, or interested in the topic, can enjoy with their whole family.
