Ausma Zehanat Khan is an American-Canadian novelist and author of crime and fantasy novels.

Biography

Khan holds a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

International Human Rights Law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

with a research specialization in

military intervention Interventionism refers to a political practice of intervention, particularly to the practice of governments to interfere in political affairs of other countries, staging military or trade interventions. Economic interventionism refers to a diffe ...

and war crimes in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. She received her

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

, and her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. She practiced

immigration law Immigration law refers to the national statutes, regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the ...

in Toronto, and was an

international human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

professor at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

as well as a human rights and business law professor at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. She has lived in the United States for fifteen years and resides in Denver, Colorado. Khan was the editor-in-chief of ''

Muslim Girl ''Muslim Girl Magazine'' was a bi-monthly fashion, beauty, and lifestyle publication marketed for young Muslim women. The magazine was first published in January 2007. It was published by Toronto's ExecuGo Media, and offered style advice, articles ...

'' magazine from 2007 until the magazine's closure. Two documentaries were made about the publication, and it was featured in hundreds of national and international profiles and interviews including

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smalle ...

, and

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...

's "Everywoman". Khan published her first

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

The Unquiet Dead "The Unquiet Dead" is the third episode of the first series of the British science-fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'', first broadcast on 9 April 2005 on BBC One. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Euros Lyn. In the episo ...

'' in 2015; the book received "best first novel" accolades from both the

Arthur Ellis Awards The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in th ...

and the Barry Awards in 2016. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

' wrote of the novel: "Throughout Getty and Khattak's solid and comprehensive investigation, Khan's talents are evident. This first in what may become a series is a many-faceted gem. It's a sound

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

, a somber study of loss and redemption and, most of all, a grim effort to make sure that crimes against humanity are not forgotten." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote: "Khan's stunning debut is a poignant, elegantly written mystery laced with complex characters who force readers to join them in dealing with ugly truths." The novel also received a starred review in both ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''. In 2017, Khan published her fantasy debut, ''The Bloodprint'' (

Harper Voyager HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Co ...

), the first in ''The Khorasan Archives'', a five-book

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

series. ''The Bladebone'', Book 5, will be published in October 2020. In 2018, Khan's middle-grade non-fiction book ''

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

'' was published by Orca Books as part of its ''Origins'' series. It was selected as a Children's Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People 2019, as well as the Children's Literature Roundtable of Canada's 2019 Information Book Award Honour Book. It was also nominated for a Hackmatack Children's Choice Award. In 2020, Khan's nonfiction essay "Origins and Destinations" was published by

Seal Press Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history. Hi ...

in the crime fiction writers'

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

, ''Private Investigations'' (ed. Victoria Zackheim). Her short story "The Once and Future Qadi" will be forthcoming in the ''Sword Stone Table'' anthology, also in 2020. In a 2018 interview with

Nick Douglas Nick Douglas (born Nicholas Charles Douklias; August 31, 1967) is an American musician, best known for being the bass player of Doro Pesch's band since 1990. He released a solo album in 2001 and a second album in late February 2017. He worked wi ...

, published in '' Life Hacker magazine'', Khan described how she devoted more time to her writing as a novelist when she and her husband began moving more often, and it didn't seem worthwhile to get the qualification to practice law in a short-term home. She currently lives in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Works

Novels

Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak series

* ''

'' (2015) * ''The Language of Secrets'' (2016) * ''Among the Ruins'' (2017) * ''A Death in Sarajevo'' (2017) (novella) * ''A Dangerous Crossing'' (2018) * ''A Deadly Divide'' (2019)

Khorasan Archives series

* ''The Bloodprint'' (2017) * ''The Black Khan'' (2018) * ''The Blue Eye'' (2019) * ''The Bladebone'' (2020)

Detective Inaya Rahman series

* ''Blackwater Falls'' (2022)

Nonfiction

*''Ramadan'' (2018) *"Origins and Destinations", in ''Private Investigations'' (2020)

Short stories

*"The Once and Future Qadi", in ''Sword Stone Table'' (2020)

Honors and awards

Awards

2016 Best First Novel for ''The Unquiet Dead'' *

Barry Award (for crime novels) The Barry Award is a crime literary prize awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of ''Deadly Pleasures'', an American quarterly publication for crime fiction readers. From 2007 to 2009 the award was jointly presented with the publication ''M ...

2016 Best First Novel for ''The Unquiet Dead''

Nominations

Macavity Awards The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

2016 Best First Novel pour ''The Unquiet Dead''

References

External links

Ausma Zehanat Khan
website

Bibliography

9 janvier 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Ausma Zehanat British emigrants to Canada Canadian mystery writers Canadian fantasy writers Canadian people of Pakistani descent Women mystery writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Canadian women novelists Barry Award winners Living people University of Ottawa alumni University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Year of birth missing (living people)