Reem Faruqi - 3 Books in 2021

Interview with award-winning author, Reem Faruqi
By: Aya Khalil
 
Aya: Hello and Salam, Reem! First of all I am so excited to be interviewing you. I don't know if I have shared with others before but you were the first author who really inspired me to publish a book, traditionally, after falling in love with your debut Lailah's Lunchbox in 2015. And our books were both published with Tilbury House, and you answered so many of my questions along the way, so thank you for that! You just released a new book called Amira's Picture Day! Congratulations. Would you tell us a little about this book?
 
Reem: I’m SO glad you were inspired, Aya. I've loved watching your writing journey unfold! I also loved your book The Arabic Quilt and can’t wait to read more from you. And yay for Tilbury House Publishers – I’ve had a great time with them.

Amira's Picture Day is a story about wanting to be in two places at once and speaking up when you want to make a change.

About Amira's Picture Day: ​Ramadan is over and Amira can’t wait to celebrate Eid. Spotting the new moon, she celebrates because Eid is tomorrow and she gets to miss school to go to the mosque for the Eid prayer and brunch.  But then she realizes that tomorrow is Picture Day at school. How will her class remember her if she’s not in the class picture? What will Amira do? 

You can order here.

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Aya: My kids and I really enjoyed Amira’s Picture Day and gifted a copy to their library! Your MG debut, Unsettled comes out on May 11th! Could you tell us a little about this novel in verse?

Reem:  You can see the summary on book ordering sites, but this is what I originally had in my query:
 
My #ownvoices middle grade verse novel, Unsettled, has a strong, female character and a poetic voice. In my lyrical 14,100 word manuscript, Unsettled, Nurah reluctantly moves continents. In a new land, she sticks out for all the wrong reasons. At school, Nurah’s accent, floral print kurtas, and tea colored skin contribute to her eating lunch alone. All she wants is to fit in. If she blends in enough, will she make a friend? For now, all she has is her best friend brother Owais. In the water though, Nurah doesn’t want to blend: she wants to stand out and be just like her star athlete brother and win a swimming medal. However, when sibling rivalry gets in the way of swimming, she makes a split-second decision of betrayal that changes their fates and Nurah might risk losing the one friend she ever had…

Aya: That sounds incredible!  You have a third book coming out called I Can Help in a few months. Would you please tell us about this?

Reem: Zahra often happily volunteers to help a fellow classmate who needs a little extra assistance in school. It is only when she gets picked on by two popular students for helping him, she decides to distance herself from the fellow classmate to fit in more with her popular classmates. Later, she feels regret for her actions, but it is too late. Now, she decides to take matters into her own hands…
 
You can preorder on Amazon or from Eerdmans.

It comes out in the fall on August 10th just in time for the beginning of the school year.
 
Aya: Perfect for the beginning of the school year. What inspired you to write these three books and the inspiration behind them?

Reem: I love incorporating real experiences from my life into my stories and each of these 3 books has these elements. Also, I wrote these books all at different times over the past few years- they just all happened to fall for publication in 2021.
 
Aya: What are some challenges you have faced throughout your publishing journey?

Reem: My most recent challenge is launching two books within one month which is a great challenge to have ☺. Amira's Picture Day release date got delayed so I have two books that will be launched within Ramadan – Unsettled and Amira's Picture Day! I am just trying to get through each day, one fast at a time, while juggling emails!

Another challenge I faced was going many years without any offers. Since Lailah's Lunchbox got published in 2015, I worked and wrote and gave up and prayed and tried again and after six long years, three books are releasing this year! I assumed after having one book out in the world, the rest would be easy and would automatically come, but that wasn’t the case when I waited for manuscripts to sell. The writing journey can be quite rocky at times and sometimes quite smooth. It’s the weirdest thing.
 
Aya: What a great reminder about how it’s never easy to sell a book but you persisted and made it happen. What advice would you give to writers, especially BIPOC writers, who want to publish a book?

Reem: I would advise you to connect with authors and critique partners who look like you and share your beliefs as well as connect with authors who don’t share your faith and culture and race. That way you can get a wider variety of opinions and insight on your manuscripts. I think it’s important to be in both worlds. I’m in a traditionally published Muslim Author group (you’re in it and we’re both admins, Aya, along with Saadia Faruqi and Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow – all authors I admire!) that I really have enjoyed being in and often ask maaany questions there.
 
Aya: I do love a good support group! What are some of your favorite books recently?

Reem: I love reading but this Ramadan haven’t had the chance to delve into books as much. A recent read I’ve loved, for picture books is Inside My Mosque by M. O. Yuksel and Hatem Aly.

For middle grade, I’ve enjoyed Hena Khan’s Amina's Voice and the way she shares her love for Pakistan with her friends as well as navigates middle school and its challenges .

For YA I just read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and loved it. I happened to watch the movie first! Both were powerful.

Aya: Great suggestions. Tell us more about yourself. Where do you live? Do you have another job besides being an amazing author? What are your hobbies?

Reem: I live in Atlanta. I work for the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta and schedule speakers for a variety of organizations. I am also a seasonal photographer but am finding less time for that!

Hobbies – doodling, NOT COOKING, making messes, napping (does that count?), Pilates
and walking. I recently discovered these Pilates workouts with Robin Long and love them. I love that the Pilates exercises (https://thebalancedlifeonline.com/) are 10-15 minutes and are a nice computer break.

Aya: I love napping too, when I can. Ha. Where can people find you? Twitter, Instagram, website and where can they purchase your books?

@ReemFaruqi on Twitter and Instagram
Please check out my photoblog at www.ReemFaruqi.com .
They can purchase my books at indie bookstores near them or on Amazon with the links provided. 

Aya: Thank you for letting me interview you! Is there anything else you'd like to add?
​Thank you for having me Aya! I love seeing our books the world and am so happy the younger generation is FINALLY seeing themselves in books!

Reem Faruqi lives in Atlanta with her husband and three daughters. She is the award-winning children’s book author of Lailah’s Lunchbox, a book based on her own experiences as a young Muslim girl immigrating to the United States. After surviving Atlanta traffic and the school drop off, Reem spends her days trying to write, but instead gets distracted easily by her toddler, camera, and buttery sunlight. You can find her at www.ReemFaruqi.com or on Instagram or Twitter.