Sofia Samatar (born October 24, 1971) is an American scholar, novelist and educator from Indiana.[1]
Sofia Samatar | |
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Born | Indiana, United States | October 24, 1971
Occupation |
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Alma mater | Goshen College, University of Wisconsin-Madison |
Genre | Fantasy, mythology, postmodernism |
Notable works | A Stranger in Olondria (2013), The White Mosque (2022) |
Notable awards | British Fantasy Award, World Fantasy Award, John W. Campbell Award, Crawford Award |
Spouse | Keith Miller |
Children | 2 |
Parents | Said Sheikh Samatar (father) |
Website | |
sofiasamatar |
Samatar was born in 1971 in northern Indiana, United States.[2] Her father was the Somali scholar, historian and writer Said Sheikh Samatar. Her mother is a Swiss-German Mennonite from North Dakota.[2][3] Sofia's parents met in 1970 in Mogadishu, Somalia, while her mother was teaching English.[4]
Samatar attended a Mennonite high school before studying at Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana,[2] where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 1997, Samatar earned a master's degree in African languages and literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in 2013 in contemporary Arabic literature.[5] She is an associate professor of English at James Madison University.
Samatar's first novel A Stranger in Olondria[2] was published in 2013.[6]
Samatar has also published qasīdas in English and collaborated with her brother on a book of illustrated prose poems, entitled Monster Portraits, which was published in 2018 by Rose Metal Press. A sequel to A Stranger in Olondria, entitled The Winged Histories, was published by Small Beer Press in 2016.[7]
Samatar's main literary influences include Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, and Rainer Maria Rilke, as well as Somali mythology.[7][8] Samatar served as a nonfiction and poetry editor for Interfictions: A Journal of Interstitial Arts.
In 2022, she published her first nonfiction book, The White Mosque, a memoir about a trip to Uzbekistan in search of the followers of fringe religious leader Claas Epp Jr.[1]
Samatar's short story "Selkie Stories Are for Losers" was a finalist for both the 2014 Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Short Story, as well as the British Science Fiction Association Award and the World Fantasy Award.[9]
Samatar's poem "APACHE CHIEF" was a finalist for a Rhysling Award.[10]
In 2014, Samatar won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award) for her book A Stranger in Olondria.[11] She was also presented the World Fantasy Award for the work.[6] In addition, Samatar received the 2014 Astounding Award for Best New Writer. She likewise won the Crawford Award and was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel.[12]
Samatar's Monster Portraits, a collection of short fiction published in February 2018, was a finalist for the Calvino Prize.[13]
The White Mosque was a finalist for the 2023 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.[14] It won the 2023 Bernard J. Brommel Award for Biography & Memoir (Midland Authors Book Award).[15]
Samatar is married to American writer Keith R. Miller.[2] They have two children, Isabel and Dominic (Nico).[16] Although her father was a Muslim, she is a Mennonite[17] like her mother.
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