Samira Ahmed

Samira Ahmed (born 15 June 1968) is an American author of young adult fiction, poetry, and non-fiction.

Quotes

 * We live in an age of internment right now…and it’s not just in the United States. These things are happening globally…Silence is complicity. It’s so important for those of us who have any kind of privilege, power or platform to always speak up. That’s the very first step to take when we see oppression in our country, when we see acts of bigotry, hatred, homophobia, xenophobia—any institutionalized prejudices.
 * On speaking out against interning people in “INTERVIEWS: Samira Ahmed—Who gets to feel at home in America?” in Book Page (Apr 2019)


 * Writing for young adults is writing into the realm of possibility…I always say that middle age novels are about doors closing, and young adult novels are about doors opening.
 * On writing young adult novels in “INTERVIEWS: Samira Ahmed—Who gets to feel at home in America?” in Book Page (Apr 2019)


 * A child always grows away from their parents. That is the job of a parent — to give their child the tools to be independent. But for the immigrant family, there’s a different cost to it, an inevitable cultural loss that happens as the first generation gives way to the second and then the third, as this once-new nation becomes (hopefully) fully your own…
 * On the immigrant families in “An Indies Introduce Q&A With Samira Ahmed” (American Booksellers Association; 2018 Jan 19)


 * [B]eing an ally means you need to be active. It’s not enough to be non-racist. You need to be anti-racist. It may not be easy, but you need to use your voice and your privilege in the moment to speak up when you see something wrong being done. Even if it is “only” a microaggression…
 * On speaking out against all forms of racism in “An Indies Introduce Q&A With Samira Ahmed” (American Booksellers Association; 2018 Jan 19)