Fatima Farheen Mirza

Fatima Farheen Mirza
Mirza in 2019
Born (1991-04-10) April 10, 1991 (age 33)
California, U.S.
Education
OccupationNovelist
Spouse
​
(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),[1] which was a New York Times Best Seller.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] She grew up in an observant Muslim family.[5] 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.[3] She later graduated from the Iowa Writers' Workshop[3][6][7] and received the Michener-Copernicus Fellowship.[8] She has taught at the University of Iowa and New York University.[9]

Career

Mirza submitted the book manuscript for her debut novel A Place for Us for publication in 2017.[10] The 400-page novel[11] 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.[12] A Place for Us took Mirza eight years to write,[10] 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,[13] the Los Angeles Review of Books,[14] and The Washington Post.[15] The book was a 2018 bestseller,[2] and was named among the best books of 2018 by The Washington Post,[16] Buzzfeed,[17] and People magazine.[18] She has been a guest on a number of podcasts celebrating her writing career such as Riff Raff,[19] Books with Jen,[20] Shalwar Kameez Dreams[21] and Bridge India’s Voices.[22]

Awards and honors

Mirza was nominated by author Tommy Orange as an honoree for the National Book Award Foundation's 5 under 35.[23]

Personal life

Mirza married British actor Riz Ahmed in 2020 after meeting at a coffee shop in Brooklyn in 2018.[24][25][26]

References

  1. ^ "'A Place For Us' Is A Skillfully-Drawn Family Saga". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  2. ^ a b "Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - July 1, 2018 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "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.