The occasion was “Write Your Book In A Weekend,” held 1–2 July at Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI). Ten participants completed and published full-length books through Lulu.com, an independent international publisher, by the close of the two-day workshop. Several more from the same cohort have finished their manuscripts in the weeks since. 

A Faculty Built on Innovation, Facing an Old Problem 

UPSI’s Faculty of Computing & Meta-Technology trains people to build the systems of the future. But when it came to publishing — a requirement baked into most academic KPIs — even its own staff were stuck using a process that hadn’t changed in decades. 

“As part of maintaining their KPIs, academics are expected to write books,” said Associate Professor Dr. Suzani Mohamad Samuri, Deputy Dean of the faculty, who organized the workshop. “What I kept seeing among my own colleagues wasn’t a lack of ideas — it was people sitting on research and expertise for years because no one had ever shown them a process that fit around teaching, supervision, and family life. That gap is exactly what this workshop closed.” 

From Doctoral Thesis to Bookshelf 

Dr. Thilaga Ravinthar, a senior English language instructor, was the first participant to publish. She built her book, From Silent Classrooms to Employable Graduates, directly from her PhD thesis on dialogic teaching. 

“My thesis sat in a repository where maybe a handful of people would ever read it,” Dr. Thilaga said. “Turning it into a real book, something instructors could actually pick up and use, felt like giving my own research a second life — and I didn’t think it was possible to do that in a weekend, let alone see it live and purchasable by Sunday night.” 

The Method: Structure, Content, Execution 

The workshop was led by Dr. Izdihar Jamil, Ph.D., a 21x bestselling author and and storytelling based in California, using her proprietary S-C-E framework. 

The framework runs on three stages: Structure — mapping the book’s framework, reader experience, and central theme before a single chapter is drafted; Content — writing toward one clear question: how does this solve the reader’s problem; and Execution — preparing the manuscript for publication and getting it live. Every UPSI participant moved through all three stages inside the same two days. 

“People don’t fail to write books because they lack ideas or expertise,” said Dr. Izdihar Jamil. “They fail because no one ever gave them a process built for how busy professionals actually think and work. What happened at UPSI wasn’t luck — it’s what happens every time someone finally gets a system instead of a blank page.” 

Ten Writers, Ten Reasons They’d Been Waiting 

From Silent Classrooms to Employable Graduates by Dr. Thilaga Ravinthar — a PhD thesis rebuilt into a practical guide for instructors who want silent classrooms to produce confident, employable graduates 

So, You’re From Sekolah Agama? by Muhammad Hafiz Foo — for graduates of religious schools tired of being underestimated the moment they say where they studied 

From Cultural Shock to Confidence: Panduan Praktikal Untuk Hidup, Belajar dan Berjaya di Jerman by Dr. Robe’ah Yusuf — a practical guide for Malaysians walking into life, study, and success in Germany, written by someone who lived through the disorientation first 

Beyond the Classroom: A Nigerian Student’s Academic Adventure in Malaysia by Aishat Muhamed Yusuf Olakanpo — an international student’s honest account of building a life and an education far from home 

The Someday Problem: A Teen’s Honest Guide to Starting Before “Later” Becomes Never by Hamdalat Salamat — written by a teenager for anyone who keeps postponing what actually matters 

The Art of Noticing: Finding Peace and Presence in the Small Wins by Sil-houette — a case for slowing down long enough to notice the small wins that keep getting missed 

The Little Shorebird Finds a New Home: An Amazing Journey Across Beaches, Skies and Seas by Nur Munira Azman — a children’s story for young readers learning that finding home sometimes means leaving the one you know 

The Journey Continues by Nezirah J. — a personal account written for anyone who needs proof that a setback is a chapter, not the ending 

Why a Faculty of the Future Chose an Old-Fashioned Weekend 

For universities, the math is hard to ignore. Publishing typically pulls faculty away from teaching, research, and family for a year or more — sometimes longer. Compressing that into two days doesn’t just save time; it means researchers like Dr. Thilaga stop leaving years of work sitting unread in a repository. Publishing independently through platforms like Lulu also means every one of these ten authors keeps full control of their work and can bring it to readers immediately, without waiting on a traditional publishing house’s timeline. 

Dr. Izdihar Jamil has now guided more than 300 leaders, entrepreneurs, and academics through the S-C-E framework to a finished, published book. Anyone ready to stop sitting on their own book can start with her free author checklist at www.izdiharjamil.com. 

About the Facilitator: Dr. Izdihar Jamil, Ph.D. is a 21x bestselling author, TV host, and visibility expert helping leaders and organizations turn their expertise into books, media features, and stages that build trust and grow influence. A TEDx Curator, she has been featured on Forbes, TED.com, and FOX11 TV. She lives in California with her husband and children, where she spends her free time baking and reading fiction. More info: www.izdiharjamil.com