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Sabaa Tahir

National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times-bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes and All My Rage

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  • About Sabaa Tahir

    Sabaa Tahir is the New York Times-bestselling author of the 2022 National Book Award winner, All My Rage. An instant New York Times and Indie bestseller, All My Rage is an unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents. Hailed by Jodi Picoult as “a gorgeous, star-crossed story about the costs of the American Dream and the way unexpected routes appear when you need them most,” All My Rage was also named a 2022 Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction and Poetry Winner, an Amazon Best Book of the Year, and a BookPage Best Book of the Year, among other accolades.

    In addition to All My Rage, Sabaa Tahir is author of An Ember In the AshesA Torch Against the Night, and A Reaper at the Gates, a series of wildly popular fantasy novels that have captured the attention of readers of all ages. An Ember in the Ashes was a smash hit upon publication, and a film adaptation is currently in the works.  Tahir’s books are beloved for their action-packed style, entrancing world-building, and prescient commentary on current events and social justice. Through her fiction, Tahir’s novels raise questions about freedom, morality, and what it means to be human.

    Sabaa Tahir is a frequent speaker at book festivals, schools, universities, and libraries. In engaging talks, she discusses her path to publication, her writing process, and how stories set in fantastical lands can illustrate the day’s most pressing issues.

    Before writing full-time, Tahir was an editor at The Washington Post. While editing an article from the Posts’ India correspondent about Kashmiri women awaiting information about the fates of their detained husbands, Tahir was inspired to begin work on her first book.  Their struggle and subsequent strength in the face of the unknown resonated with Tahir, herself the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, and inspired her to tell the story of Laia and Elias, two young people fighting a shadowy, savage government to reunite with their lost family.

    Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s eighteen-room motel, where she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash, and playing guitar badly. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

    Contact us for more information about booking Sabaa Tahir for your next event. 

  • Speaking Topics

    The Story of Ember

    An in depth look at the process of writing An Ember in the Ashes, the unusual turns the story took, the interviews and research required to make the story authentic, and the equally challenging process of writing the books’ sequels. In this talk, Sabaa focuses on purposefully choosing to portray a diverse world and cast, as well as the inspiration she took from world events while working as a journalist.

    The Power of Failure

    Sabaa Tahir speaks about her multiple failures across the course of her life, and how those failures helped shape her outlook and prepare her for a career in journalism, and for what followed: the arduous, six-year journey to write her #1 New York Times-bestselling An Ember in the Ashes.

    Battling Monsters

    We will all face monsters in life, though we don’t always know what to do when we encounter them. Sabaa Tahir delves into her own cowardly reactions to monsters as a teen, and the importance of recognizing and ultimately battling your own monsters, whether it be for the good of one person, or the good of many.

  • Video

  • Praise for Sabaa Tahir

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    She was wonderful! She was very open, personable, and able to answer all the questions students had. The audience gave her all 4 or 5 star ratings on their feedback forms. […] She exceeded all our expectations and we would love to chat with her again for future books! Thank you!

    Troy School District
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    Sabaa was wonderful! She is a terrific speaker who easily connects to the audience with her humor, vulnerability, and kindness. She impressed and inspired us all!

    Open Book, The Pasadena Literary Alliance

    Praise for From a Certain Point of View (Star Wars)

    The Mashup You’ve Been Looking For.

    Tordotcom

    The biggest joy of this collection is turning the page to a new story and realizing which character they’ll be jumping to next.

    New York Daily News

    An entertaining, multi-faceted way to revisit that galaxy far, far away.

    Financial Times

    The stories are humorous, heartbreaking, and downright wacky. If you have a favorite Star Wars character, forget them. You’re going to have forty new favorite characters after reading this.

    Comicsverse

    An impressive, and highly entertaining, short story compilation.

    Cinelinx

    Praise for An Ember in the Ashes

    Tahir’s deft, polished debut alternates between two very different perspectives on the same brutal world, deepening both in the contrast. In a tale brimming with political intrigue and haunted by supernatural forces, the true tension comes from watching Elias and Laia struggle to decide where their loyalties lie.

    Publishers Weekly (starred review)

    One thing I can say for sure: this is a page-turner. There comes a moment when it’s impossible to put it down. Sabaa Tahir is a strong writer, but most of all, she’s a great storyteller.

    The Huffington Post

    Fast-paced, well-structured and full of twists and turns, An Ember in the Ashes is an evocative debut that has left me invested in knowing what happens next.

    NPR

    Sabaa Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy.

    Us Weekly

    [An Ember in the Ashes] thrusts its readers into a world marred by violence and oppression, yet does so with simple prose that can offer moments of loveliness in its clarity. This complexity makes Ember a worthy novel—and one as brave as its characters.

    The New York Times Book Review

    This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human—and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.

    The Washington Post

    Praise for A Torch Against the Night

    Tahir proves to be a master of suspense and a canny practitioner of the cliffhanger, riveting readers’ attention throughout.…[An] action-packed, breathlessly paced story.

    Booklist (starred review)

    A Torch Against the Night is an unabashed page-turner that scarcely ever pauses for breath.

    The Christian Science Monitor

    The sequel to Tahir’s bestselling smash An Ember in the Ashes finally comes out in August, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint.

    Book Riot

    An adrenaline rush till the very last page.

    Buzzfeed

    The stakes here are high and the plot runs like a well-oiled machine, ratcheting up the tension with every chapter.

    NPR.org

    Praise for A Reaper at the Gates

    Fans of the series will not want to miss this action-packed installment.

    Bookish

    Tahir has created another compelling story that defies readers to stop turning the pages.

    Booklist (starred review)

    The book deftly handles serious issues like the costs of genocide and war. Both action-packed and emotionally engaging, A Reaper at the Gates is the perfect summer read.

    The Washington Post
  • Books by Sabaa Tahir

  • Media About Sabaa Tahir

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and Availability

  • 212 572-2013
  • Sabaa Tahir travels from San Francisco, CA

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