Interview with debut PB author Moniza Hossain

We are so excited to host debut picture book author Moniza Hossain! Her picture book, Street Puppy, Masjid Cat releases on October 7th. It is illustrated by Wastana Haikal. Read more below: 

What was your inspiration for Street Puppy, Masjid Cat? 

I was looking after my sister’s dog when I wrote this book. Every evening, we would go for a walk past our neighborhood mosque, and the dog was absolutely obsessed with the cat that lived in the mosque. He would sit at the gate and cry while the cat glared out at him. Needless to say, his love was not reciprocated. I decided to write him a happier ending in my book, where a dog and a cat find common ground in an unlikely friendship. 

I love the fact that cats often live in mosques and I’ve always thought that a picture book about this unique cultural phenomenon would be cute and sweet. Serendipitously, the universe threw a mosque cat story in my lap. I think this was a story that was always meant to be written. There are so many misconceptions about Islam and Muslims, and this story gave me the perfect opportunity to shed some light on the importance of kindness in my religion. 

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

I tend to write my picture books very quickly. Once inspiration strikes, I can usually have the story drafted in about three days. The first few lines of this book (which have not changed since I wrote them) came to me while I was walking the dog. I took my phone out and dashed the lines out in the notes app. I built on those lines once I got back home and then shared the draft with my critique partners. I did a few more rounds of edits and then sent the manuscript off to my agent. I don’t remember how long it took for the book to sell, but my editor came back with a R&R fairly quickly. She wanted me to flesh out the friendship arc within the story a little bit more. Once I did that, she took the manuscript to acquisition, and the book sold. 

What are your favorite illustrations in the book?

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I love every page of this book. I had the honor of working on this story with Wastana Haikal, who is a brilliant Indonesian artist, and he brought the story to such vivid life with his exuberant, colorful art that it took my breath away when I first saw it. My favorite page is probably the page that introduces the two main characters, because their distinct personalities leap off the page so charmingly. The dog is sweet, the cat a little naughty. You get a peek at the setting of the story; the Southeast Asian city the stray dog roams about in and the beautiful mosque the cat lives in. The book is rife with cultural details that add to the beauty of the tale. 

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Moniza Hossain is a Singaporean author of Bengali descent who writes children’s books inspired by her heritage. Her debut picture book, Street Puppy Masjid Cat, is coming out in October of 2025 with Little Bee Books, and her sophomore picture book, Ritu In The Sun, will be published by Random House Children’s Books in 2026. She also writes books for middle-grade readers. Her middle-grade debut, The Fear Factory, will be published by Holiday House Books in 2026. She has a short story in the award winning anthology Being Ace, and another in an anthology entitled The Beasts Beneath the Winds, that will be published in the fall of 2025 with Abrams.

When she’s not busy writing, she teaches English literature and paints dragons.

Follow her at: 
Twitter: @moniza_hossain Instagram: @monizahossain