Our publications

My father, the writer and thinker, Idries Shah, believed that folklore was the single most important breakthrough ever developed by the human species. The way he saw it, the rise of stories was as consequential as the development of the language in which they were told.

He said that, without stories and storytelling, humanity would never have evolved in the way that it has – and, that folktales, which form a bedrock of ancient societies, are more precious than any physical artefact unearthed on an archaeological dig.

At The Scheherazade Foundation, we are preoccupied with the way we can extract knowledge from stories – either deliberately, or in a less structured way.

We hold the opinion that, in order to remove the marrow from the bone, stories are best served up in a way by which they were passed throughout human history, from one generation to the next.

Over coming months, we plan to release 20 initial titles, each one of which will contain stories drawn from all corners of the world. Inspired by my father’s masterwork World Tales, the books will form part of a foundation stone, to help those touched by them to solve problems, and to rethink.

Our mission is to release paper and digital editions and, if funds permit, audio book editions, too. Free to read copies will be available online, while printed copies will be available on Amazon and elsewhere.

Tahir Shah

The Scheherazade Foundation has been working hard to release in book form hundreds of stories and folktales, collected from all corners of the earth, as well as volumes that draw together expert thinking on our need for stories, and their role in human society.

The first volume in the series, The Secrets of Scheherazade, contains twenty-two stories, including The Paradise Tree, The Hoopoe’s Flight, and The Happiest Man in the World.

Over coming months and years we plan to release numerous other volumes in the collection, including the titles presented below, which are currently in production.

The Scheherazade Foundation has been working hard to release in book form hundreds of stories and folktales, collected from all corners of the earth, as well as volumes that draw together expert thinking on our need for stories, and their role in human society.

The first volume in the series, The Secrets of Scheherazade, contains twenty-two stories, including The Paradise Tree, The Hoopoe’s Flight, and The Happiest Man in the World.

Over coming months and years we plan to release numerous other volumes in the collection, including the titles presented below, which are currently in production.