SK Ali published her first book, Saints and Misfits, in 2017. Since then, she has published another novel, collaborated with fellow author Aisha Saeed and written a children’s book with Olympic athlete and activist Ibtihaj Mohammed. Her latest novel, Misfit in Love, will debut this May.
Ali spoke with Hayat about the rise of Muslim voices in YA literature, the importance of seeing positive stories for young Muslim girls, and more.
SK Ali debuted with “Saints and Misfits” in 2017
Ali dreamed of being an author all her life. But it was not until 2017 that she published her first book, Saints and Misfits.
Saints and Misfits by SK Ali
This debut novel followed the story of Janna Yusuf, a teenaged Muslim girl living in the United States, navigating crushes, expectations, religion, and an attempted sexual assault by a well-known and respected boy in her community.
Saints and Misfits quickly garnered widespread praise, earning its place on a dozen reading lists, grants, and awards around the country.
But following this successful debut, Ali decided to look at topics outside of intra-community ones for her next book, citing a certain “fatigue” of heavy literary topics within marginalized communities.
“We as Muslims never had our foundational books,” Ali explains. “For white readers and dominant groups, they see the stories that just let them be, and feel comfortable with the way they live their lives. But I noticed that young readers really wanted those stories rooted in their own Muslim backgrounds.”
So for her next novel, Love from A to ZAli focused on the positive, hoping to allow young readers to see themselves in her story, and to relate to the positive experiences of her characters in a Muslim community.
Building a community
Ali writes about community, among other things. Her characters navigate school, family, relationships and religion, finding their places in the world. For Ali, that place is a community of writers.
“I don’t know if I’d have kept writing if I didn’t have this community,” she says. “This Muslim community, but also other minority writers…people are there to empathize and sympathize and boost each other.”
She remarks that growing up, she saw Muslims talked about on the news and in media, but rarely by Muslim voices. Moreover, the Muslim voices that were heard usually had a negative perspective on Islam. But now, Ali is part of a growing community of Muslim voices looking to share their stories.
“It does feel like a revival, a renaissance of sorts of Muslim creative voices,” she says.
Ali has also co-written and collaborated with other Muslim creatives. She worked with Aisha Saeed on Once Upon and Eid, and Olympic athlete Ibtihaj Muhammed on The Proudest Blue.
“I’ve really, really enjoyed the collaborative process,” she says. “You have a sounding board, and it’s especially amazing when you respect each other’s voices and you bring something else into the mix…it just becomes a much fuller project.”
“Misfit in Love” by SK Ali
Ali has a few projects underway now—some kept under wraps for the time being, and others getting ready to launch into the world.
In fact, Ali’s next book and sequel to Saints and Misfits will be released on May 25th, 2021. This book, Misfit in Love, adds to Janna’s story as she navigates new crushes, family drama, and more.
Misfit in Love by SK Ali
Preorder Misfit in Love here.
