21+ Books By Muslim Authors To Read In 2021

Salaam, friends!

It’s that time of year again. A new year calls for… a new list of books written by Muslim authors! This is a blog post that I’ve written for the past two years and it’s absolutely one of my favourite lists to compile, seeing just how many incredible books by Muslim authors are releasing year on year.

As always, this list is not exhaustive but it’s a good place to start if you’re looking to expand your #MuslimShelfSpace. And if you missed it, don’t forget to check out my list of 19+ books by Muslim authors to read in 2019, and 20+ books by Muslim authors to read in 2020!

Author Spotlight: Interview With A. M. Dassu

Salaam, friends!

It’s been a while but I’m back with another author spotlight. This interview is part of the blog tour for Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassu, which was published by Old Barn Books earlier this month.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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A. M. Dassu is a writer based in the East Midlands. She is the Deputy Editor of SCBWI-BI’s Words and Pictures magazine and a Director of Inclusive Minds, a unique organisation for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children’s literature, and are committed to changing the face of children’s books.

She won the international We Need Diverse Books mentorship award in 2017, and has used her publishing advances for her debut middle grade novel Boy, Everywhere to assist Syrian refugees in her city and set up a grant to support an unpublished refugee/recently immigrated writer.

You can follow her on Twitter @a_reflective.

Author Spotlight: Interview With Burhana Islam

Salaam, friends!

I’m excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Amazing Muslims Who Changed The World by Burhana Islam, out today from Puffin. This is a tour that I’ve organised with Naima @ Violette Books for @TheMuslimShelf, featuring a handful of Muslim bloggers discussing the amazing Muslims, past and present, who have inspired us.

I couldn’t choose just one person to talk about, though many of my favourites are mentioned in the book, so I thought I would interview the author instead, and give you a small glimpse of the beautiful artwork inside (thank you to Puffin for the photos!)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Born in Bangladesh, raised in Newcastle and currently residing in the outskirts of Manchester, Burhana Islam is a storyteller who is passionate about exploring themes of heritage, belonging, identity and faith in both her children’s and young adult works. She studied English Literature at Newcastle University before deciding to become a secondary school teacher, sharing her love for stories with a new generation of curious, young minds.

You can follow her on Twitter: @Burhana92

#RamadanReadathon 2020 Wrap-Up

Salaam, friends! It feels really weird to be writing this wrap-up post almost a month after #RamadanReadathon ended, but better late than never?

It’s needless to say that I’ve always felt overwhelmed by the support for this readathon over the last four years, from readers and authors alike. Which is why I really struggled to accept that I was feeling major burn out this year around halfway through the month.

#RamadanReadathon has always been a passion project of mine but, this year, it almost felt like work. But I want to focus on the positives here, because that’s what ultimately keeps me going.

Not only did I manage to spotlight almost every author in the Once Upon An Eid anthology, but I also hosted an Instagram Live with S. K. Ali as well as photo challenges and a Twitter chat. Not to mention a collaboration with the co-hosts of #SARC2020 and guest posts from other Muslim bloggers. The only thing I didn’t do is read any books, but I’m blaming that on my year-long reading slump!

So, without further ado, here’s your ultimate round-up for everything #RamadanReadathon 2020. Spoiler alert: it’s a good one!

Author Spotlight: Interview With Hena Khan

Salaam, everyone! I’m so excited to share the final author interview for #RamadanReadathon 2020.

As you know, the readathon is themed around the anthology Once Upon An Eid, so I wanted to spotlight as many of its contributors as possible during the month. I’ve had an amazing line-up of authors so far and I’m pleased to announce that the last contributor from the anthology to join me is none other than Hena Khan!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Hena Khan is a Pakistani-American writer. She is the author of the middle grade novels Amina’s Voice, Amina’s Song, and More To The Story and picture books Golden Domes And Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, and It’s Ramadan, Curious George, among others.

Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland, with her basketball-loving family. You can follow her on Twitter: @henakhanbooks.

 

Author Spotlight: Interview With Rabiah York Lumbard

Salaam, everyone! It’s time for the penultimate author interview for #RamadanReadathon.

As well as highlighting the contributors of Once Upon An Eid this month, I also wanted to interview some additional debut or established authors to really capture the diversity of Muslim voices writing today. The next author to join me is Rabiah York Lumbard, whose YA fiction debut No True Believers was published in February!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Rabiah York Lumbard is an award-winning author of the picture book, The Conference Of The Birds. Her latest picture book, The Gift Of Ramadan was highly recommended by SLJ as “a perfect addition to holiday book collections,” while her deeply personal debut novel, No True Believers draws on her experience as an American Muslim at home and abroad.

After embracing Islam at the age of eighteen, she earned a BA in Religious Studies from George Washington University and is currently completing her MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. She moves frequently but currently lives in the Doha with her husband and three daughters where she also works as a part-time writing specialist at local universities. You can follow her on Twitter: @RabiahLumbard.

Author Spotlight: Interview With Ayesha Mattu

Salaam, friends! As Eid ul-Fitr quickly approaches, I’m counting down the remaining days of Ramadan with the last few author interviews for #RamadanReadathon 2020.

As you know, the readathon is themed around the anthology Once Upon An Eid, so I wanted to spotlight as many of its contributors as possible during the month. The penultimate story in the anthology is written by Ayesha Mattu, so I’m excited to welcome her on the blog today!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Ayesha Mattu’s two groundbreaking anthologies – Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim Women and Salaam, Love: Muslim Men on Love, Sex, and Intimacy – were featured globally by media from the New York Times to the BBC to the Jakarta Post. She was selected a “Muslim Leader of Tomorrow” by the UN Alliance of Civilizations, and is an alumna of Voices of Our Nations writers’ workshop.

Her work has most recently anthologized in: Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion and Once Upon An Eid: Stories of Hope and Joy by 15 Muslim Voices. You can follow her on Twitter: @Ayesha_Mattu.

Author Spotlight: Interview With Huda Al-Marashi

Salaam, friends! It’s time for another author interview for #RamadanReadathon 2020.

As you know, the readathon is themed around the anthology Once Upon An Eid, so I wanted to spotlight as many of its contributors as possible during the month. I’m excited to announce that the next author from the anthology to join me is Huda Al-Marashi!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Huda Al-Marashi is the author of First Comes Marriage: My Not-So-Typical American Love Story, a memoir the Washington Post called “a charming, funny, heartbreaking memoir of faith, family, and the journey to love.”

Her other writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, the LA Times, al Jazeera, the Rumpus, and elsewhere. First Comes Marriage was longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize and a finalist for the Southern California Independent Booksellers’ Award.

You can follow her on Twitter: @HudaAlMarashi.

Author Spotlight: Interview With Saadia Faruqi

Salaam, everyone! I’m so excited to introduce another guest for the next author spotlight of #RamadanReadathon.

Admittedly, one of my favourite things about hosting this readathon is getting to interview such a diversity of Muslim authors, so I’d like to give a warm welcome to Saadia Faruqi for joining me today to discuss her two upcoming MG novels, A Place At The Table (co-written with Laura Shovan) and A Thousand Questions!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. She writes the children’s early reader series Yasmin published by Capstone and other books for children, including middle grade novels A Place At The Table (HMH/Clarion 2020) co-written with Laura Shovan, and A Thousand Questions (Harper Collins 2020).

She has also written Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan, a short story collection for adults and teens. Saadia is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She resides in Houston, TX with her husband and children. You can follow her on Twitter: @SaadiaFaruqi.

Author Spotlight: Interview With Hanna Alkaf

Salaam, friends! It’s time for another author spotlight for #RamadanReadathon 2020.

As you know, the readathon is themed around the anthology Once Upon An Eid, so I wanted to spotlight as many of its contributors as possible during the month. I’m so excited to have Hanna Alkaf joining me on the blog today to talk about the anthology and her upcoming novel The Girl and The Ghost!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Hanna Alkaf graduated with a degree in journalism from Northwestern University and spent over ten years writing everything from B2B marketing emails to investigative feature articles, from non-profit press releases to corporate brochures. She now spends her time making it up as she goes along, both as an author of fiction and as a mom.

Hanna lives in Kuala Lumpur with her family. Her first young adult novel, The Weight Of Our Sky, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2019; her middle grade debut, The Girl and The Ghost, will be published by HarperCollins in 2020. You can follow her on Twitter: @yesitshanna.