It’s always amazing to me how the real impact of what you do as a teacher has very little to do with the day to day remuneration or any sort of ‘recognition’ you receive. Humanity really comes down to being a big blob of interpersonal connections. I was having a conversation with a family member […]

So all that I’ve written so far is the preamble to the big event, the one that I was actually invited to keynote: Children’s Literature Festival in Karachi. The Children’s Literature Festival is an initiative begun by two very dedicated ladies: Baela Raza Jamil and Ameena Saiyid (the head of Oxford University Press) trying to […]

February 18th, A private school and the High Commissioner of Canada! I’ll never forget the presentations on this day! These kids were a lot older, I’d say close to fourteen and fifteen, and they understood English!!! You could see it on their faces! I first met this girl, so pretty masha Allah, with such a […]

It’s very important as an author to keep abreast of what’s coming out: trends in story creation and trends in literature. But with me, I always tend to read a book or watch a movie that’s received a lot of hype, long after the hype has died down. Hype is really tricky! It can color […]

One of the things I’ve been worried about with the Syrian crisis and everything is what if, as happened in Sweden, a refugee commits a crime or even expresses an ‘ungrateful’ sentiment. People are very fickle. And sometimes people in difficult circumstances are at the end of their patience and might not express themselves in […]

I had been dreading this week! Six days, non-stop. Not easy. I’m still processing it. On Monday I visited a small town outside Toronto. No Muslims in the school that I could see, only one or two brown kids! Part of me wondered if they’d cancel, considering the devastating attacks in Paris the Friday before. […]

Quebec was lovely! Montreal is a beautiful city! I had never seen it in this light before! Stayed at the Marriott in Westmount and it’s such a quaint little place! Loved the architecture. Normally I don’t care for a lot of statues and stuff sticking out of the brickwork, but they do make it work! […]

Things have calmed down somewhat with regards to the infamous comments of Daniel Handler during the National Book Award ceremonies where he pointed out that Jacqueline Woodson was allergic to watermelon, ‘make of that what you will’. Jacqueline Woodson then posted a very interesting open letter in the New York Times talking about how hurtful […]

Hmm. In light of that mini-speech I gave at the NCTE, I’m starting to think, hey, what’s so wrong with being on the porch? I’m feeling a little disillusioned with pop culture. Last night I was watching Toy Story 3. It’s not the first time I watched it. It’s the third time, and yeah, there […]

Been being interviewed a lot these days! Here’s me on Radio Islam out of Chicago: And here’s the mayor of Edmonton reading Big Red Lollipop! http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_organization/mayor/video-the-mayor-reads-eps2-big-red-lollipop.aspx?doAutoPlay=true