Saadia Faruqi

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist, and interfaith activist based in Houston, Texas. She grew up in Pakistan, later immigrated to the United States, and has been active in cultural-sensitivity and interfaith work since the post-9/11 period, including training faith communities, law enforcement, and other groups about Islam and Muslim cultures. She has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as a woman making a difference in her community and serves as editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine dedicated to Muslim art, poetry, and prose.

Faruqi is the author of the early reader series beginning with Meet Yasmin!, which follows a young Pakistani American girl navigating everyday adventures and challenges. In addition to the Yasmin books, she has written Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan, as well as numerous children’s titles including the middle grade novels A Thousand Questions, Yusuf Azeem Is Not a Hero, The Partition Project, and, with coauthor Laura Shovan, A Place at the Table. She also coauthored The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World and has received multiple honors for her work, including recognition from the Schneider Family Book Award, the South Asia Book Award,