She received her BA in English Literature[7][8] and works as a tutor for the Center for Training Kindergarten Teachers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Alem has published several plays, three novels, and a collection of short stories, Nahr al-Hayawan (The Animal River, 1994).

She has reflected on her relationship with the now overhauled and renovated city of Mecca, saying: I belong to a stream of thinking rather than a piece of land, to a current that runs everywhere.

My country is all over the globe...Now, in Mecca, I felt I belonged, not to the ceremonies performed by thousands of bodies but to a spirit that was reaching out to me alone.

"[9]Among her significant works are the books Khatam, Sayidi Wehadana, Masra Ya Rageeb, Hubba, The Silk Road, and other novels.

Alem was joint winner of the 2011 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for her novel The Doves' Necklace.