Introduction
Sajidah "S.K." Ali is a Canadian author of children's books, best known for her Asian/Pacific American Award-winning debut young adult novel Saints & Misfits, about an Arab American hijabi who grapples with getting sexually assaulted by a friend from her Mosque.
Personal life
Ali was born in South India and immigrated to Canada when she was three. The first language she learned in school was French. She wrote her first story in seventh grade.
She has a degree in Creative Writing from York University. Aside from writing, Ali also works as a teacher and has written articles for the Toronto Star. She mentions Judy Blume as one of her biggest inspirations for her writing career. Ali is a practicing Muslim. In January 2017, she created the hashtag #MuslimShelfSpace as a way to shine light on books by other Muslim authors.
She lives with her family in Toronto.
Ali is friends with fellow writers Ausma Zehanat Khan and Uzma Jalaluddin.Khan told an interviewer that they considered themselves the Sisterhood of the Pen, and appreciated comments as they shared early drafts of their work.
Works
Novels
- Saints and Misfits (Salaam Reads, 2017)
- Love from A to Z (Salaam Reads, 2019)
Picture books
- The Proudest Blue, co-authored with Ibtihaj Muhammad, illustrated by Hatem Aly (Little, Brown, 2019)
Short stories
- in Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love (Simon Pulse, 2019)
Awards
Won
- 2017 Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature for Saints and Misfits
Nominated
- 2018 William C. Morris YA Debut Award for Saints and Misfits