Exclusive Interview: Salaam Reads Fifth Anniversary

Salaam Reads is an imprint of Simon & Schuster that focuses on Muslim authors and what it means to be a Muslim. And, for those who don’t know, the word “Salaam” has an Arabic origin that means peace. They have sold over one million copies, receive many awards, and been included on countless “Best of Year” lists.

Coincidentally, this month is Ramadan for Muslims, and it’s also Salaam Reads’ fifth anniversary! To celebrate, Pop Culturalist is thrilled to have the opportunity to interview some of the most popular Muslim authors at Salaam Reads, S.K. Ali, Hena Khan, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and editor Deeba Zargarpur.

PC: Hello everyone and welcome to Pop Culturalist! Please introduce yourselves and tell us one word that you believe fits your book the best.
S.K. Ali: I’m the author of several books for young people, including the upcoming Love from Mecca to Medina, which, in one word, is “rollercoastery” (I hope that’s a word). [laughs]

Hena Khan: Hello! I’m a writer of books for kids and a believer in the power of stories to bring us closer together. The word that fits Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun the best is “inviting.”

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: I am a children’s book author who enjoys telling stories that affirm and empower kids. I am also a mom, wife, and educator. Abdul’s Story = Uplifting.

Deeba Zargarpur: Hi! My name is Deeba Zargarpur, and I am an editor at Salaam Reads and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. I acquire across all genres in picture books, middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels.

PC: Hena, what inspired you to write Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun?
Hena Khan: I’ve wanted to explore Zara further ever since she was a side character in my Zayd Saleem series. In those books, through her little brother’s eyes, she’s good at everything without even trying. But she’s also someone with varied interests, who has tried and quit a lot of things. I thought it would be funny to explore that notion—a serial quitter trying to figure out how to break a world record for all the wrong reasons! And I loved the idea of a girl like Zara, an unlikely hero, starring in her own series.

PC: Hena, I heard this is inspired by Beverly Cleary’s Ramona Quimby books. In what ways are Zara and Ramona Quimby similar, and in what ways are they different?
Hena Khan: Yes! I adored the Ramona Quimby books and the way they are centered around things that are central to kids’ lives—the block you live on, playing with other kids, and negotiating family life. They are lighthearted but still have strong character development, and Ramona is someone I admired for her antics and opinions, despite (or maybe even because of!) her flaws.

Zara is like Ramona in that they are both imaginative and bright girls trying to figure out their place in the world and make sense of things that don’t always make sense, like how to manage feelings of jealousy or getting what you want. But of course, Zara is a third-generation Pakistani American Muslim girl who brings those aspects of her life and her extended family into her everyday experiences.

PC: Jamilah, congratulations on landing an agent! Do you have any advice that you’d like to share about going through the querying process?
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: Thank you! My advice: Don’t rush into the process. Learn and master your craft and get as much feedback as possible before sending your first query. Invest the time to learn who is selling the kinds of books you create and how to write query letters. Once you start querying agents, persistence and patience are key. Many new authors think they are being persistent and patient with the process, but the process often takes so much more effort and time than anything else they’ve ever experienced. Just how much is required is shocking.

PC: Jamilah, what was it like to collaborate with an illustrator for Abdul’s Story?
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: Tiffany Rose creates beautiful, spunky, and simply dope Black children. Seeing them come alive in my story was magical. I love the characters in the story, including minor ones like the hijabi girl, because they have so much personality from their clothes to their expressions. Tiffany absolutely captured the quirkiness and sweetness of the protagonist, Abdul. I also love that Abdul looks similar to my sons because in multiple ways they inspired this character. Although I never directed Tiffany to make Abdul look like them, my brief description of Abdul in the story with “tall hair” and “skin the orange-brown of sunrise” was definitely based on my children, so when I look at Abdul, I see them.

I also described the Philadelphia neighborhoods I’ve known in the book, and her capturing of the look and feel of the city might be the strongest aspect of the illustrations in Abdul’s Story. I’m not sure, though, because the characters definitely compete with the settings. These elements together are all so strong.

PC: S.K. Ali, what was one marvel and one oddity when it comes to writing a sequel with characters that are so loved by readers? Is there anything that you can tease about Love from Mecca to Medina?
S.K. Ali: Marvel: I got to hang out with Adam and Zayneb again! For 350 pages! Oddity: Adam and Zayneb are not talking to me, because I didn’t just hang out with them for 350 pages; I gave them pain (as I was told good writers must do).

PC: S.K. Ali, Zayneb and Adam go to Umrah in Love from Mecca to Medina! What was the research process like for writing their journey?
S.K. Ali: A lot of it was reaching back into my memories, as I’ve been to Umrah seven times. While writing, I spent a lot of time closing my eyes and putting myself back into the scenes in my head because I wanted to access those fresh feelings of seeing the city of Mecca when I was young, seeing the Kaaba for the first time (tears literally erupt, because this is the sight we Muslims—two billion of us from around the world—face when we pray), as well all the other experiences that are unique and special…as well as challenging. I didn’t want to shy away from addressing the challenging parts of Umrah, so I mulled on those as well.

And in terms of outside research, I have to thank all those who recorded videos of their visits to Mecca and Medina–particularly the climb to the Mountain of Light, as it’s been a long time since I climbed it. There were also several videos that captured the feeling of Medina so well that I was able to harken back to the sense of peace I’d felt in that city on my trips there. So, thank you YouTubers for sharing your beautiful trips!

PC: Deeba, what is your editing style like?
Deeba Zargarpur: My editing style varies depending on my author’s needs. Each author’s process is different, so before I begin editing (or even acquiring a title), I like to introduce myself and listen to what editing style an author prefers to see if I were to be the best fit for them and their book. Getting an understanding early on has been extremely helpful to set up the author-editor relationship. Some authors prefer collaborative phone calls and loose suggestions; other authors prefer very detailed and meticulous edit letters with more concrete solutions. It all really depends on the project, but in general, I would say I’m extremely collaborative with my authors.

PC: Deeba, what advice do you have for those who are interested in becoming editors in the future?
Deeba Zargarpur: This might be surprising, but brush up on your public speaking! We do a lot of presenting and interviewing! This aspect of the job really surprised me. I think the common misconception about being an editor is that we read and edit all day long (the dream), but there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that can eat into editing time. Be prepared to present and talk about your books a lot! It’s an unexpected but fun part of the job.
Another tip: find an organizational method that works for you. Editors keep track of a lot of schedules, and it’s very easy to get dates mixed up. Having good organization habits will definitely set you up for success.

PC: Salaam Reads is an imprint of Simon & Schuster that centers around Muslim authors/books with Muslim protagonists. What is your advice for writing unapologetically and authentic Muslim characters?
S.K. Ali: Write from your own vantage point, a point that (hopefully!) dims all the naysayers, Islamophobes, those who don’t respect your voice, and those who told you either outright or subtly, you can’t. Center your own voice and that of our communities and ummah, not centering what’s been put out there about Muslims, because while it’s important to explore both misconceptions and our traumas as a community under the lens in North America and elsewhere (as well as other challenging aspects of being Muslim in the context of prevalent Islamophobia), it’s vitally important not to tax our creativity with “answering back” or “fixing” stereotypes about Muslims or “proving them wrong”. Write the stories you want to tell, write the stories our communities need, write like no one negative or mean is watching, write as though you have a right to be loved, and you will be. To be resilient in this industry, we have to believe humans are more inclined to love each other than to hate. And readers are truly some of the best humans out there.

Hena Khan: It’s essential to stay true to yourself and the stories you want to see exist in the world, rather than thinking about who you might potentially be selling your story to or the widest audience you hope to reach. Focus on writing a story that is honest and something you can imagine a younger you or another Muslim kid feeling good about reading. That doesn’t mean that everything should be perfect, or that there isn’t conflict or struggle, but don’t feel like you must explain why Muslims are the way we are or push back against unflattering or incorrect narratives or misperceptions. Creating strong, layered characters that others can relate to with nuanced experiences will serve that purpose!

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: Don’t write the Muslim stories you think the industry wants you to tell. Write the stories that come from somewhere deep down. Write stories that impassion you, that inspire you, and that come from your own faith and experiences. Write stories that crack you up, that make you cry, that you feel in your soul. Write the stories that you are dying to tell–the ones you need to tell before you die.

Never forget to center the Muslim reader as your audience. At the heart of our work is writing for them. Go a step further and center the particular kinds of Muslims of your own communities. Being specific allows us to broaden and complicate the narratives about Muslims. Plus, there is something exhilarating about focusing the lens so sharply while writing.

Deeba Zargarpur: The best advice I can give is to always empower your Muslim authors to write the story that is most authentic to their Muslim characters. I think in the past, subconsciously, we felt this pressure to “water down” our stories, our culture, and our traditions in an effort to be “relatable” to a non-Muslim audience. But why should we? There is so much beauty and diversity within the Muslim community, so much rich culture and mythology children’s literature has yet to explore. We need to encourage our Muslim authors to write unapologetically, and write bravely because somewhere, there is a child who needs this story to feel seen.

PC: How has Salaam Reads empowered you as a Muslim author/editor?
S.K. Ali: From the beginning, I saw that Salaam Reads was open to authenticity, which was incredibly freeing. As I shared in another interview, I feel like that freedom empowered me to take risks with my creativity and play around with framing devices and hooks, and just be bolder. That’s why I felt confident sharing the unique structure of Love from A to Z with my editor, who immediately loved it, and it ended up resonating so much with readers (who got it on Goodreads Choice Awards and even NBC’s Today Show) and critics alike (who put it on several best-of-year and best-of-all-time lists), which is an amazing thing.

Similarly, with Love from Mecca to Medina, I felt not only allowed, but encouraged by my editor to be true in capturing what pilgrimage to Mecca is actually like, including the spiritual elements, which I know will result in Muslim readers saying, “Yes, this is it,” and non-Muslim readers feeling welcomed to come along on a trip they wouldn’t get to experience otherwise. It makes for better storytelling and is a testament to how important it is to have true industry openness to our authentic voices.

Hena Khan: Knowing that I can write without having to justify why my story is important or explain why I want to avoid certain tropes and dominant narratives is huge to me. I feel safe having Salaam Reads as a home for my middle-grade fiction and appreciate the freedom to create the stories I believe in with the support of my editors and the entire team. I’m also grateful for the community of writers around me and proud to be a part of something so essential and truly groundbreaking.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: Salaam Reads has empowered me to tell my stories without reservation. I have never felt I needed to hold back. I write my full experience with language, characters, and situations that are authentic to me as a Muslim and feel safe and encouraged to do so.

Deeba Zargarpur: The imprint has helped me fill a hole that was missing from my childhood. When I was growing up, I often got the message, “Who would want to read a story about a Muslim character?” As a kid, I internalized that and accepted it. I didn’t realize how much that had impacted me until Salaam Reads was announced. Just reading the press release gave me so much hope, and I discovered how much my inner child needed the imprint to exist.

PC: How do you bring to life a balanced story with culture and religion intertwined so perfectly?
S.K. Ali: I decided early on to write what I call “raw”, which means writing life as it is. My experiences are more with my faith communities and less with cultural aspects of being Muslim (with roots in this culture or that culture). I grew up in a community that was very multiculturally Muslim, and so I find it easy to incorporate a focus on the basics of the religion with a myriad of cultural influences. This is my raw experience, so I find myself writing that balance often. And I’m grateful for that as it allows a wide variety of Muslim readers, from different cultures and backgrounds, to feel connections with my books.

Hena Khan: Wow! I’m flattered by the question, but to be perfectly honest, that isn’t something that I specifically set out to do when I write. I begin with my character, my character’s journey, and the cultural components and religious aspects that just weave their way into my story. In my own life, my religion and culture are a part of who I am and manifest in the things I say, the way I think, what I eat and wear, and how I move through the world. Since my characters are loosely based on my own experiences, and those of my children, husband, and others in my life, it’s only natural that they are impacted the same way. It’s important to me that the cultural or religious mentions in my stories do not feel like teaching moments, but simply exist. And they can also provide flavor, depth, or humor depending on the scene.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: It goes back to centering my own communities. I am a Black American Muslim, and it’s important in every book I write to portray this religious-cultural group unapologetically. My books are for all kids, of course, but I start off my writing by thinking about my audience as the Black American Muslim child who doesn’t have many books about them. When I make them my only audience at the beginning of the writing process, it is simple to intertwine my faith and culture because they naturally intertwine in our lives. I don’t think in a deliberate way about balancing these two things. The balance is already in what I know.

Deeba Zargarpur: For me, it’s always character first, story second. When you have a clear sense of your main character, who they are, where they are from, and what they believe in, the story falls into place. Finding the balance is always tricky, but it’s perhaps my favorite part of the editing process.

PC: What message do you hope readers will take away after reading your book/Salaam Reads titles?
S.K. Ali: That, regardless of what society/the world/people around them have told them, they are loved and are worthy of a beautiful life, of being a beautiful human. For too long, as a visible young Muslim, I grew up under the yoke of Islamophobia and had to fight to feel this truth every single day. So, I want my readers to immediately feel that warm, fuzzy feeling of being cherished–without effort on their part–when they close the cover on one of my books insha’Allah.

Hena Khan: I don’t have a specific message but hope readers will feel like they found a new friend in Zara and that they crave knowing more about her, her family, and her friends. Many of the moments and scenes in the story are taken from my own childhood, and the characters are inspired by my actual friends and family. For that reason, Zara’s world feels very real to me, and I hope readers love sharing it and seeing what a family like mine is like. And I hope they will find connections and be able to relate in a multitude of ways while being completely entertained.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow: That their stories have value. No matter their struggles with writing or the lack of representation of them in books and other media, the stories that they know and that they have to share are gifts to the world and are worthy of being told.

Deeba Zargarpur: When I was growing up, I never saw myself in books—and on the rare occasion I saw a Muslim character depicted, the story was always rooted in common misconceptions or narratives that centered on Muslim suffering and oppression. This was very damaging to me as a young person. What I hope Muslim and non-Muslim readers take away from our list is this: every child deserves to feel seen, to be celebrated, and to be the hero of their own story. Our titles invite all readers to admire and celebrate the Muslim experience, in the hope of finding the threads that bind us all together as people.

To learn more about Salaam Reads, head over to their official website. Make sure to follow S.K. Ali (Twitter/Instagram), Hena Khan (Twitter/Instagram), Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow (Twitter/Instagram), and Deeba Zargarpur (Twitter/Instagram).