Daniel Nayeri is an Iranian-American author. His 2020 autobiographical novel, '' Everything Sad Is Untrue'', received a

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

, a

Walter Dean Myers Award The Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature, known as "The Walters,” was created by the American nonprofit We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) in 2014, and the inaugural award was presented in 2016. Named after young adult author ...

, and a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organization ...

Biography

Nayeri was born in Iran, and fled the country with his sister

Dina Dina ( ar, دينا, he, דִּינָה, also spelled Dinah, Dena, Deena) is a female given name. Women * Dina bint Abdul-Hamid (1929–2019), Queen consort of Jordan, first wife of King Hussein * Princess Dina Mired of Jordan (born 1965), Princ ...

, and their mother, a doctor, after a

Fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

had been issued against her. They lived for three years in refuge camps in Dubai and Rome before settling in 1990—when Nayeri was eight years old—in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest cit ...

. Nayeri attended Edmond Memorial High School, and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where he studies writing. Nayeri was publisher of Odd Dot, a children's publishing group at

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, before leaving in 2020 to pursue full-time writing. Nayeri lives with his wife and son in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Works

Nayeri's printed works include: * ''Mirror Town'', 2023 * ''The Many Assassinations Of Samir, The Seller Of Dreams'', 2023 * '' Everything Sad Is Untrue'', 2020 * ''Sasha And Puck And The Brew For Brainwash'', 2020 * ''Sasha And Puck And The Potion Of Luck'', 2021 * ''Sasha And Puck And The Cure For Courage'', 2019 * ''Sasha And Puck And The Cordial Cordial'', 2019 * ''The Most Dangerous Book : An Illustrated Introduction To Archery'', 2017 * ''How To Tell A Story'', 2015 * ''Another Jekyll, Another Hyde'', 2013 * ''Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow'', 2011 * ''Another Pan'', 2010 * ''Another Faust'', 2009

Awards

In 2020, ''Everything Sad Is Untrue'' received a

for best book written for teens, and was one of two honorees in the younger readers category for a

. In 2021, the book received a

in the young adult category, and was a finalist for an Audie Award for Young Adult Title. In 2023, the book was nominated for a

Young Reader's Choice Award The Young Reader's Choice Award is an award program of the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) which was inaugurated in 1940 by Harry Hartman, a well-known Seattle based bookseller. It is the oldest "children's choice" award in the U.S. an ...

. ''Everything Sad Is Untrue'' was listed as one of the best children's books of 2020 by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', '' Today'', and Booklist Editors' Choice.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayeri, Daniel American young adult novelists American writers of Iranian descent New York University alumni People from Edmond, Oklahoma Year of birth missing (living people) Living people