Interview with YA Author Ahmad Saber

We are excited to interview Young Adult author, Ahmad Saber about his upcoming book, Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.

Kidlit in Color: What was your inspiration for Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions? 

Ahmed Saber: My inspiration had always been the question I’d asked myself for well over 15 years: is the pain of having to reconcile your sexuality with your religious or cultural identity in vain, or could it have a meaning? And I didn’t realize it all those years but the answer had always been to write a story based on my lived experience. However if you’re asking about that “spark” moment, then I’d say it was seeing a video clip of a Muslim high school and looking at all the students looking happy in there, apparently looking like they belong, found their community, and then imagining a teen boy who’d have to blend into that while having to hide their true, authentic self. 

KLiC: Please tell us about your writing process. How long did it take you to write and sell this book? 

AS: Oh gosh, the idea was born exactly in July 2019, and publication date is March 2026, so that is almost 7 years in the making! The main breakthrough came when my incredibly generous and passionate agent Dan Lazar gave me a chance to revise and resubmit, and this truly changed the DNA of the story, and ultimately led to the book deal in July 2023. Then it was 3 more years of editing and revising! I am therefore a firm believer in editing, revisions, and R&Rs! (provided it resonates with you. I don’t recommend it otherwise). For my writing process, I’m pretty squarely a pantser. I find overly plotting takes the joy out of it for me. 

KLiC: What kind of research did you do for Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions?

AS: For the initial drafts, I had to research what life in a Muslim school set in the modern west would be like, the curriculum, the fees required, the dress code observed, the religious education etc. In later drafts, as more details emerged, I had to basically research everything from the minutiae of soccer rules, to how horses behave in barns (someone kindly pointed out it’s darn near impossible to raise a stallion as a pet because they break everything!)

KLiC: What’s the one thing you want teens to take away from your book?

AS: Increased empathy. Whether that is a straight sophomore girl reading to understand the queer Muslim perspective, whether that is a queer junior of non-South Asian background who would like to explore the unique perspective of queer Muslims and/or Desis, or whether that is a kid of color who sees themselves in this book and feel seen.

KLiC: Do you have any tips for pre-published authors?

AS: Revise, revise, revise! There were more occasions than I can count on two hands where I felt like quitting. I thought revision limbo was gonna last forever! But I am so, so glad, in retrospect, to have revised this story and hammered away at it. (Caveat: this is you get “green light” signals e.g. getting a R&R, getting editor feedback etc. Sometimes, in certain situations, it really is best to shelve a manuscript and write another book).


Ahmad Saber is a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology and internal medicine. Born and raised in Pakistan, Ahmad and his family moved to Canada while he was in high school. Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions is his debut novel and based in part on his own life. You can find him on Instagram @ItsAhmadSaber.