Samina Ali is an American author and activist born in India. Her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' Madras on Rainy Days'', won the Prix du Premier Roman Etranger award from France and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award in Fiction.

Career

She has served as the curator of ''Muslima: Muslim Women’s Art and Voices,'' a global, virtual exhibition for the

International Museum of Women The International Museum of Women (IMOW), headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, is an online museum that covers women's issues worldwide. Since March 2014 it has been part of the Global Fund for Women. Creation and expansion ...

(IMOW), now part of

Global Fund for Women The Global Fund for Women is a non-profit foundation funding women's human rights initiatives. It was founded in 1987 by New Zealander Anne Firth Murray, and co-founded by Frances Kissling and Laura Lederer to fund women's initiatives aroun ...

. She is the co-founder of American Muslim feminist organization ''Daughters of Hajar''. In 2017, she delivered a Tedx talk, ''What does the Quran really say about a Muslim woman's hijab?'' at the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded ...

, defining the word "hijab" as it's used in the Quran. By 2020, the video had been viewed more than 8 million times. She is a

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

for ''

HuffPost ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'' and ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

''.

Bibliography

* '' Madras on Rainy Days'',

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, 2004,

Honors and awards

In 2004, Samina received the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award in fiction. One year later, ''Madras on Rainy Days'' was awarded the Prix du Premier Roman Etranger award in 2005, and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award in fiction. In July 2004, ''Madras on Rainy Days'' was chosen as a best debut novel of the year by ''

Poets & Writers Poets & Writers, Inc. is one of the largest nonprofit literary organizations in the United States serving poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers. The organization publishes a bi-monthly magazine called ''Poets & Writers Magazine'' ...

'' magazine, and she was featured on the cover in July/August 2004 issue.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Samina Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Writers from Hyderabad, India American people of Telugu descent Indian emigrants to the United States University of Oregon alumni University of Minnesota alumni Islamic fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winners American women writers of Indian descent American women novelists American novelists of Indian descent