SALADIN AHMED ON WRITING MUSLIM AMERICAN FANTASY

Detroit-born Saladin Ahmed won the Locus award for Best First Novel with Throne of the Crescent Moon (2012), the first book in a planned trilogy based on 1001 Nights.  The book was also a finalist for the 2012 Nebula Award and the 2013 Hugo award for Best Novel.  Ahmed was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award in 2010 and 2011.  His story "Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela" was a Nebula finalist in 2013 and his story "Where Virtue Lives" was a finalist for the 2009 Harper's Pen Award. He has also been a finalist for the Crawford, Gemmell, and British Fantasy awards.  Ahmed wrote the first year of Marvel Comic's Black Bolt and is currently writing both Marvel's Exiles and BOOM! Studio's Abbott.

Ahmed struck a blow for diversity last year when he pointed out on Twitter that the only brown corn pop on the entire cereal box of Kellogg's Corn Pops was the janitor.  The post went viral, leading to Kellogg's promise to change the artwork on future boxes.

Here, Ahmed discusses Muslim American fantasy at Grand Rapids Community College.

Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVBui-jESmo