We recently connected with Zainab Khan and have shared our conversation below.

Zainab, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

A wise author once mentioned at a conference how a great writer would write stories that only he/she could write.
To me, it meant I had to write about a teacher who needed her face reattached in the right places. After all, I was a former elementary and preschool teacher. It was one of the many things I taught to preschoolers. It was an original idea the world needed. Little kids in every school, in every state in our country would giggle as they learned about faces.

Putting pen to paper, I wrote a first draft and sent it off to the very first agent I’d met at that first conference. Needless to say, I got a polite rejection. A very polite rejection from a kind and brilliant agent who encouraged me to keep writing.

Looking back, I can’t stopping blushing at the story I sent her. The story wasn’t original. It was a variation of the toy, Mr. Potato Head. In addition, there were plenty of preschool teachers who could’ve written that book. This is not what the writer meant when she said write what I could only write.

Over several years, the same phrase was repeated by different industry professionals. Following through with their advice, I still struggled to get agented. One day, my thoughtful critique partner finally cracked the code. Was I supposed to write stories that sprouted out of my heritage and sometimes my faith? Would being specific about my personal experiences allow the work to be universal?

This was something I’d shied away from when I first started writing. I was afraid that my identity would be rejected. That somehow my faith and brown color would be frowned upon and ostracized. My experiences growing up here birthed that fear. This worry had prevented me from writing what I needed to write in order to be published. Overcoming that inner struggle was what lead me to an amazing agent and getting a book contract.

The response to NOURA’S CRESCENT MOON was overwhelming. Children imagined they were characters from the book. Muslim child were represented and the non-Muslim child saw herself/himself in a similar light.

Now, I tell everyone what that author and industry professionals say. Write what only you can write. But, I take it a step further and explain the how and why. That is the path to publishing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an American Muslim author of Pakistani heritage. My goal is to promote empathy for diverse communities and to help children develop strong bonds of friendship.

In the past, I was a reader judge for We Need Diverse Books. I’ve also successfully mentored an aspiring author at Inked Voices. My mentee not only got a book contract but also an agent in the process.

Currently, I am a 12×12 Critique Ninja as well as a picture book mentor for pre-published authors who’ve reached out through friends. The hope is that one day, children of all faiths and cultures will see themselves in books including Muslim children. Growing up there weren’t any Muslim books for my kids. This next generation will have a plethora of books to share.

Finally, I offer picture book critiques. I want all authors to one day be published.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

When I was in high school, my elementary aged sister’s class was assigned to read SHABANU: DAUGHTER OF THE WIND by Suzanne Fisher Staples. Excited to see a story about a Pakistani girl, I quickly dived deep into the story. The hope was to see myself represented in the protagonist.

Instead, I got a rude wake up call. A white woman who knew nothing about Muslims or the educated Pakistani population, chose to write a story about a young village girl forced to give up her fiancé and marry a forty year old man. Yes, things like this happened in Pakistan but they happened in every culture including American culture even to this day. The seeds of ignorance and bigotry were being planted in my sister’s class by teachers who knew no better. I was emotionally disgusted.

In the past decades, books by Muslim authors are finally taking their place in the classrooms. It has taken a very long time for this come to fruition but it is necessary so that the next generation can learn about the positive aspects of different people and not be forced fed a stereotype.

I hope my books are part of this new library of books cultivating young minds to ensure humanity survives even in the darkest of times.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My hope is that I continue to inspire children to be proud of their ethnicity. At author visits, little Muslim kids come up to me and say salaam. Then, they share with me how they see themselves in NOURA’S CRESCENT MOON. These are the moments that elevate me as an author. I am helping them grow into confident young people.

Kids of other faiths and cultures also see how they are similar to their Muslim friends. It is a chance for them to connect with students of other ethnicites/ faiths and possibly develop lifelong friendships.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zzzkbooks.com
• Instagram: Zainabzk1
• Facebook: Zainab Khan
• Twitter: Zainabzk

Image Credits

All images belong to me.