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Fatima Farheen Mirza

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American author
Fatima Farheen Mirza
Mirza in 2019
Born (1991-04-10) April 10, 1991 (age 33)
California, U.S.
Education
OccupationNovelist
Spouse Riz Ahmed ​(m. 2020)​
Signature

Fatima Farheen Mirza Ahmed (born April 10, 1991) is an American novelist best known for her novel A Place for Us (2018), which was a New York Times Best Seller. She was also honored by the National Book Award Foundation as a "5 Under 35" Honoree in 2020.

Early life and education

Mirza was born and raised in California. Her parents are both of Indian descent; her mother grew up to a British Indian family in Birmingham, while her father immigrated to the United States from Hyderabad. She grew up in an observant Muslim family. Mirza attended the University of California, Riverside, where she pursued medical studies at first but made a career shift to creative writing as an undergraduate. She later graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and received the Michener-Copernicus Fellowship. She has taught at the University of Iowa and New York University.

Career

Mirza submitted the book manuscript for her debut novel A Place for Us for publication in 2017. The 400-page novel was the first book to be published by actor Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint in collaboration with Crown Publishing Group, called SJP for Hogarth. A Place for Us took Mirza eight years to write, and explores the shifting dynamics in a Muslim immigrant family living in the States after having immigrated from Hyderabad, India. The novel was reviewed by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Washington Post. The book was a 2018 bestseller, and was named among the best books of 2018 by The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and People magazine. She has been a guest on a number of podcasts celebrating her writing career such as Riff Raff, Books with Jen, Shalwar Kameez Dreams and Bridge India’s Voices.

Awards and honors

Mirza was nominated by author Tommy Orange as an honoree for the National Book Award Foundation's 5 under 35.

Personal life

Mirza married British actor Riz Ahmed in 2020 after meeting at a coffee shop in Brooklyn in 2018.

References

  1. "'A Place For Us' Is A Skillfully-Drawn Family Saga". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  2. ^ "Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - July 1, 2018 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  3. ^ "Q&A: Fatima Farheen Mirza on being published by Sarah Jessica Parker". the Guardian. June 3, 2018.
  4. Fox, Killian (3 June 2018). "Fatima Farheen Mirza: 'I'd just stepped out of the subway when Sarah Jessica Parker called…'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  5. "Fatima Farheen Mirza talks about Muslim life, her best-selling novel and its Sarah Jessica Parker connection". Dallas News. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  6. León, Concepción De (2017-06-27). "Sarah Jessica Parker Reveals First Book Acquisition, and Her A.L.A. Book Club Pick". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  7. McCusker, Abby (April 15, 2021). "Fatima Farheen Mirza reads from unfinished second novel at UI Literary Legends event". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  8. "Iowa City Book Festival: Fatima Farheen Mirza". events.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  9. "Boxing". Granta. 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  10. ^ "Book Issue: New Author Spotlight on Fatima Farheen Mirza | Tory Daily". www.toryburch.com.
  11. "A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza: 9781524763565 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com.
  12. "Introducing: SJP for Hogarth". SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker.
  13. Christensen, Lauren (2018-06-01). "Sarah Jessica Parker Has a Book She Wants You to Read". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  14. Foroutan, Parnaz (July 12, 2019). "The Burden of Otherness: On Fatima Farheen Mirza's "A Place for Us"". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  15. Charles, Ron (June 11, 2018). "Review | Sarah Jessica Parker thinks she knows what you should read. She's right". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  16. "Best books of 2018". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  17. Rebolini, Arianna (7 December 2018). "The 28 Best Fiction Books Of 2018". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  18. "Books". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  19. "The Riff Raff: Episode 51 - Fatima Farheen Mirza". Soundcloud.com. Soundcloud. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  20. "Ep. 12 | ft. Fatima Farheen Mirza | A Place for Us". Apple Podcasts. podcasts.apple.com.
  21. Khan, Zahra. "Shalwar Kameez Dreams Featuring Fatima Farheen Mirza". podcasts.apple.com. Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  22. India, Bridge. "'Voices' Podcast". bridgeindia.org.uk. Bridge India. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. Andrews, Meredith (2020-09-21). "The National Book Foundation Announces 2020 5 Under 35 Honorees". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  24. Buchanan, Kyle (2021-01-28). "Losing Control With Riz Ahmed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  25. "Riz Ahmed reveals he married author he met in cafe". The Independent. 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  26. Specter, Emma (2021-04-26). "I Want What They Have: Riz Ahmed and Fatima Farheen Mirza". Vogue. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
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