• An image of Naseem, a light-skinned West Asian person with brown curls and purple highlights. They are grinning at the camera, wearing a black sweater with blue and beige accents, a multicolored scarf, blue nose stud, and gravestone earrings.

    Visit this link for a downloadable press kit and related materials.

    Photo credit: Jeramie Lu. Reprint of photo is permitted for publicity purposes.

  • 50 word bio

    Markowitz Award–winning author Naseem Jamnia (they/them) writes speculative fiction for adults, teens, and kids. Their adult work has been nominated for the Crawford, Locus, Astounding, and World Fantasy awards. A Persian-Chicagoan, educator, and pro-library activist, Naseem lives outside Reno, Nevada. The Glade (May 27, Aladdin) is their middle-grade debut.

    100 word bio

    Markowitz Award–winning and Astounding Award-nominated author Naseem Jamnia (they/them) writes speculative fiction for adults, teens, and kids. Their adult fantasy novella The Bruising of Qilwa was nominated for the Crawford, Locus, and World Fantasy awards, and they contributed to the YA horror anthology The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power. A Persian-Chicagoan, former neuroscientist, and current educator and pro-library activist, Naseem currently lives outside Reno, Nevada, with their husband and four furred creatures. The Glade (May 27, 2025, Aladdin, SimonKIDS) is their middle-grade debut. Find out more at NaseemWrites.com, and join their newsletter NaseemWrites.Kit.Com/SignUp.

    <200 word bio

    Former neuroscientist, Astounding Award-nominated, and Judith A. Markowitz Award–winning author Naseem Jamnia (they/them) writes inclusive speculative fiction for kids, teens, and adults. Their adult fantasy novella The Bruising of Qilwa was a finalist for the Crawford, Locus, and World Fantasy awards. Their story in the YA horror anthology The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power was called “artful” and “reminiscent of director David Cronenberg’s work” by Kirkus Reviews. Naseem has been a Bitch Media, Lambda Literary, Otherwise, and the inaugural Samuel R. Delany fellow, and their nonfiction has been published in The Washington Post, The Rumpus, Cosmopolitan, New Orleans Review, and other venues. Naseem is the managing editor and book designer for Sword & Kettle Press, a tiny publishing house of inclusive speculative writing. As part of the steering committee of Freedom to Read Nevada and the Nevada chapter co-lead for Authors Against Book Bans, Naseem is proud to fight for public libraries in their community. A Persian-Chicagoan and child of Iranian immigrants, Naseem lives outside Reno, Nevada, with their geologist husband and four furred creatures. The Glade (May 27, 2025, Aladdin, SimonKIDS) is their middle-grade debut. Find out more at NaseemWrites.com, and join their newsletter NaseemWrites.Kit.Com/SignUp.

  • relevant links

    Book Links:

    For publicity requests, please email ChildrensPublicity@simonandschuster.com.

    For publicity requests related to The Bruising of Qilwa, email Kasey Lansdale at Tachyon Publications: kasey@tachyonpublications.com.

  • Talking Points

    Trying to figure out what to cover for either me or The Glade? Check out some ideas below.

    A headshot of Naseem, a light-skinned nonbinary West Asian person with curly brown hair. They're wearing a colorful scarf over a black sweater with threads of blue and cream. They smile with closed lips at the camera.

    For Naseem

    • Growing up as first-generation (a child to immigrants) Iranian
    • Chicago (yes, that broadly!)
    • Relationship between being queer, trans, Muslim, and Iranian
    • Writing with neurodivergence
    • Experiences in academia in both the sciences and humanities, including teaching, research, and graduate school
    • Uncovering language for a queer identity after adolescence
    • Being openly queer and nonbinary trans in today's political climate
    • The importance of comparative solidarities in the fight for worldwide liberation
    • Fighting for the freedom to read and the freedom to write, and the importance of public libraries
    • How being a nerd contributes to my writing
    An image that says, “What’s in The Glade?” with a picture of the cover in the middle and arrows pointing to various inclusions. These are: “anxious, nerdy, and science-y Iranian American MC; racialized and queer cast of misfits; age-appropriate discussions of anxiety, mental illness, trauma, and feeling/being othered; BIG best friend feels; Minnesota- and Midwest-isms; fungal (mushroom) horror; summer camp with secrets; creepy and incorrect nursery rhymes; creepy “kid” and disembodied voices; creepy nature and giant spiders.”

    For The Glade

    • Writing across genres and age ranges
    • Horror in kidlit
    • Exploring difficult topics for kids, including mental health, racism, gender identity, family tension, and abuse
    • Third culture kids
    • Why kids need representation, even (or especially) if it's not their own
    • Summer camps and horror
    • BIPOC and queer horror
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