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By: Rena Elhessen/Arab America Contributing Writer
Literature is an outlet for creativity and offers a safe space to express social, personal, and mental struggles. In America’s shifting environment, Arab American authors use the written word to express their frustration at the unfairness. These notable authors express the diaspora of living in America, discussing the social injustice and mistreatment of Arabs. Representation matters, and it continues to matter in a world where Arab culture is less celebrated. Here are some Arab American authors to watch for National Arab American Heritage Month:
Arab American Poets
Kamelya Omayma Youssef
A writer from Dearborn, Michigan, and a Lebanese American poet. Kamelya Omayma Youssef is a winner of the 2020 Carolyn Bush Award. She was recently awarded the George Ellenbogen Poetry Award for her work, A book with a hole in it (Wendy’s Subway, 2022). Kamelya is a teacher, literary worker, and poet in New York. She got her MA in English at Wayne State University and gained her double bachelors in English and Arab & Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan. She was an educator in NYC and taught at Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
Threa Almontaser
Yemeni American poet Threa Almontaser is the author of The Wild Fox of Yemen. Her achievements as a writer include, winning the 2020 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets and longlisted for the 2021 National Book Awards for Poetry. Threa’s poetry is centered in her belief of advocating for self liberation. She uses poetry as a means of expression to advocate for liberation of oneself and others. She also holds the belief that poetry should connect history, and carries this theme in her work. Threa earned her Master of Fine Arts in poetry and a TESOL certification from North Carolina State University.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Born in Missouri to a Palestinian father and an American mother, Naomi Shaihab Nye expresses true diaspora in her works. Naomi lived in Jerusalem early on but immigrated following the Six-Day War to San Antonio, Texas. She draws much of her artistic influence from everyday scenarios, including her interactions with neighbors, who are most commonly Mexican-American. Because of this, most of her works include Middle Eastern and Native American religions. Her works have won numerous awards, including the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, and many more!
Children’s Book Authors
Susan Muaddi Darraj
Palestinian American Susan Muaddi Darraj’s works include poetry, children’s books, and her most recent novel, Behind You Is the Sea. She won an American Book Award and two Arab American Book Awards. She currently teaches creative writing at Harford Community College and John Hopkins University. Her most recent novel was longlisted for the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award. Themes of her work include the Palestinian American diaspora. This is the central theme of her new novel about a Palestinian American cop and his father, a Palestinian immigrant, who are at odds with one another.
Aya Khalil
Egyptian-born author Aya Khalil is the author of picture books and board books. She has a master’s degree in education with a specialization in teaching English as a second language. Aside from being an author, she is also a freelance journalist and blogger. Her books have won multiple awards, including the Arab American Book Award. As a Muslim in America, Aya’s books highlight the practice of Islamic tradition and religion in America. One of her most notable books, The Night Before Eid, won the CCBC Children’s Choice Best Book of the Year.
Arab American Novelists
Zeyn Joukhadar
Syrian American author Zeyn Joukhadar has written many award-winning novels expressing the Arab American diaspora and the search for identity. Major themes of their work include, navigating identity as an Arab and queer person. Their most recent novel, The Thirty Names of Night, won the Lambda Literary and Stonewall Book Awards. Their other novel, The Map of Salt and Stars, won the 2018 Middle East Book Award. Joukhadar is developing a theatrical adaptation of his novel, The Thirty Names of Night, at the Noor Theatre Company in New York.
Laila Lalami
Moroccan American fiction author Laila Lalami is a notable author to watch. Her novel, The Moor’s Account, has received the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Wright Legacy Award. Her most recent work includes The Other Americans, which won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Laila also works as an essayist and has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, New York Times, and more!
Etaf Rum
The Palestinian American author of NPR Best Book of the Year, Evil Eye. Etaf discusses the questions of individual and cultural identity through her work. Her novel Evil Eye tells of a Arab American mother and wife who must break the generational curse she has allowed to carry on. This novel transcends familial generations of trauma to explore the Arab American identity. Etaf also occupies the title of Arab American business owner, operating her own coffee shop and bookstore, Books and Beans.
Memoirs, and More!
Tamer Elnoury
Tamer Elnoury immigrated to the United States at the age of five from Egypt. He joined law enforcement in 1995, working with the fugitive task force. Shortly after, he began working on narcotics, corruption, and trafficking cases. He is most distinguished for his counterterrorism work with government agencies. In his book, American Radical, reveals his experiences as a Muslim American agent in infiltrating and bringing down a terror cell in North America.
Sarafina El-Badry
An Egyptian American astrophysicist and analog astronaut, Sarafina El-Badry is the perfect example of an accomplished author. She has received fellowships by the National Science Foundation and her work is featured in NPR, National Geographic, and more. In her memoir, Starstruck, Sarafina tells how she carved her way in the field of astrophysics.
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