Maryam “Umm Juwayriyah” Sullivan is an American poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and performance artist. Sullivan's novel ''The Size of a Mustard Seed'' is the first published Islamic

Urban fiction With more than half the world's population living in cities, urban fiction has become a truly global field. Recent comprehensive studies of urban fiction showcase the worldwide reach of the genre and include ''Writing Beirut: Mappings of the Ci ...

title.

Life

Umm Juwayriyah is an American Muslim of West Indian and American ancestry. She has three children and is a full-time elementary school teacher. In addition to writing, performing, and teaching, Umm Juwayriyah is editor for the New England Muslim Women's Association and former two-term assistant director of the Islamic Writers Alliance.

Work

Umm Juwayriyah's began publishing her work at fourteen years old as the founder and a contributor to the newsletter and e-zine ''Adhaanul Mu’minaat''. She has been published in print magazines such as ''Al Jumuah'', '' Azizah'', ''SISTERS'', ''An Nisaa'', and as well is published on several internet sites and other e-zines. Umm Juwayriyah's debut Islamic fiction novel ''The Size of a Mustard Seed'' is the first Islamic

title. Umm Juwayriyah has been performing her poetry and plays since she was 17. She has performed at the

Islamic Circle of North America Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is an Islamic North American grassroots umbrella organization. History ICNA is an offshoot of the Muslim Students' Association (MSA), and was founded by immigrants from South Asia. In 1971, a number of South ...

Convention (ICNA), New England Muslim Sisters Association (NEMSA), RETREAT, Muslimah Fit Retreat, the New Haven Masjid Al Islam's Youth Retreat, and numerous American colleges, including American International College and

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

. She has presented workshops at Rochester Institute of Technology, Al Iqra Academy, and at many Islamic Centers in New England. Her first staged play ''In The Shadows of Our Mothers'' debuted in 2003. ''Hijab All Mine'' opened in 2010 in New Haven, Connecticut. Umm Juwayriyah also speaks to Muslim and non-Muslim groups across the United States addressing issues, such as Muslims and media, Muslims in print, the state of Muslim youth in the West, and growing up Muslim in America.

Awards

* 2010 WGGB/ Springfield Partners for Community Action Activism Award * 2009 Lorraine Hansberry's Performing Arts Scholarship * 2006 Canada's An Nisaa's Muslim Fiction Writer of The Year Award

Selected published works

* ''The Size of a Mustard Seed'' (Muslim Writers Publishing, 2009) * ''Many Voices, One Faith II – Islamic Fiction Stories'' (Muslim Writers Publishing, 2009) * ''Many Poetic Voices, One Faith'' (Muslim Writers Publishing, 2009) * ''Many Voices, One Faith'' (Heliographica Press, 2005)

References

External links

Author Umm JuwayriyahAdhaanul Mu'minaat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Maryam American Muslims American religious writers American women religious writers Islamic fiction writers Living people American dramatists and playwrights Muslim poets Year of birth missing (living people)