About

How to pronounce my name

It's aMAL elmoTAR. You can hear me say it at namedrop.io/amalmohtar.

Author bios

Short bio (27 words)

Amal El-Mohtar is an award-winning writer of poetry and short fiction, and co-author of the New York Times bestselling This Is How You Lose the Time War.

Longer bio (92 words)

Amal El-Mohtar writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. She won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for her short story “Seasons of Glass and Iron” and again for her novella This Is How You Lose the Time War, written with Max Gladstone, which also won the BSFA and Aurora awards, became a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into over ten languages. Her reviews and articles have appeared in the NYT and on NPR Books. Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is her debut collection. She lives in Ottawa, Canada. Online at: amalelmohtar.com.

Longest bio (188 words)

Amal El-Mohtar writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. She won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for her short story “Seasons of Glass and Iron” and again for her novella This Is How You Lose the Time War, written with Max Gladstone, which also won the BSFA and Aurora awards, became a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into over ten languages. She's a three-time winner of the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem for her poems "Song for an Ancient City," "Peach-Creamed Honey," and "Turning the Leaves," and in 2012 she received the Richard Jefferies Poetry Prize for "Phase Shifting."

She has an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Ottawa, where she taught for several years, launching and running the creative writing program.

She has been the science fiction and fantasy columnist at the New York Times Book Review since 2018. Her reviews and articles have also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on NPR Books. The River Has Roots is her solo debut, and Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is her debut collection. She lives in Ottawa, Canada. Online at: amalelmohtar.com.

Full list of awards and nominations

• The River Has Roots, winner of the Nebula and Locus awards, finalist for the Hugo, Ignyte, British Fantasy and Aurora Awards.
• This is How You Lose the Time War, co-written with Max Gladstone, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Ignyte, Aurora and British Science Fiction and Fantasy awards; finalist for the Brooklyn Public Library Prize and the Ray Bradbury Award at the L.A. Times Book Prizes.
• Recipient of the 2019 Sally Klages Memorial Fellowship.
• "Seasons of Glass and Iron," winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards for Best Short Story; finalist for the Sturgeon, Eugie Foster, Aurora and World Fantasy Awards.
• "Pockets," finalist for the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story.
• "Madeleine," finalist for the Nebula and Locus Awards for Best Short Story.
• "The Truth About Owls," winner of the Locus Award for Best Short Story.
• "The New Ways," finalist for the Aurora Award for Best English Poem/Song.
• "Turning the Leaves," winner of the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem.
• "Turning the Leaves" and "Lost," finalists for the Aurora Award for Best English Poem/Song.
• "Phase Shifting," First Place in the Richard Jefferies Society Poetry Competition.
• "The Green Book," finalist for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story.
• "Peach-Creamed Honey," winner of the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem.
• "Song for an Ancient City," winner of the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem.