It was only natural in such a lively environment to see the emergence of various streams of cultural and literary activity. Its manifestations were diverse : writers flourished, and magazines, literary salons and clubs, newspapers, printing houses appeared. Much of what developed was pioneering, a series of firsts : the first novel, the first short stories, the first newspaper. In 1936 two brothers, Ali and Uthman Hafiz, established "AI Madinah" newspaper, the first non-government   journalistic publication in the Kingdom. Its establishment was concomitant with that of a printing house, which may very well also have been the one that printed the first literary magazine in the Kingdom - "AI Manhal", first published in 1937 by Abdulquddous Al Ansari; it has not ceased publication ever since. It was this same Al Ansari who seven years earlier had published the first Saudi novel, "At-taw' aman." Such pioneering acts included the publication of the first short stories in Saudi Arabia. The Algerian, Ahmad Ridha Huhu, familiarized first short stories in Saudi Arabia. The Algerian, Ahmad Ridha Huhu, familiarized Saudis with this new genre at about the same time. Huhu became an exemplary participant in the burgeoning literary movement in Madinah that included poetry as well as fiction. Among the poets Madinah introduced to the Saudi literary scene were figures such as Ibrahim AI Askubi, Obaid Madani, M. E. Al Khatrawi Muhammad Hashim Rashid and Abdulmuhsin Hilleet.

Literary salons - a concept imported from neighboring Arab countries, mainly Egypt - played an important role in enhancing dialogue amoung the Madinah literati on various issues as it encouraged those with Literary talents to expose their work to others and get it published. These salons worked together with a more organized gathering that took the form of an early Literary club. Soon that was followed by an official literary club 1975, which became one of the major forums for literary and cultural activity in the Madinah region. To begin with the club was run by a body of academics and writers appointed by the government, but later that body was elected by the literary community in a process that included other similar establishments in the various parts of the kingdom.