{{short description|American young adult novelist}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] --> | name = Sabaa Tahir | image = Sabaa Tahir - 2015 National Book Festival (5).jpg | alt = | caption = Tahir at the 2015 [[National Book Festival]] | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = American | occupation = Novelist | language = English | alma_mater = [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]] | genre = [[Fantasy]] | notableworks = {{Plainlist| * ''[[An Ember in the Ashes]]'' series [[All My Rage]] }} | awards = [[National Book Award]]<br> [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award]]<br> [[Michael L. Printz Award]] | years_active = | website = {{URL|sabaatahir.com}} }}
'''Sabaa Tahir''' is an American<ref name=":0"/> [[Young adult fiction|young adult]] novelist best known for her [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times''-bestselling]] ''[[An Ember in the Ashes]]'', its sequels, and the novel ''[[All My Rage]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/226080/sabaa-tahir|title=Sabaa Tahir {{!}} Penguin Random House|website=www.penguinrandomhouse.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-05}}</ref>
Two of her novels, ''An Ember in the Ashes'' and ''A Torch Against the Night,'' were listed among ''Time'' Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time in 2020.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time|url=https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/|access-date=2020-10-19|magazine=Time}}</ref> In 2022, her novel ''[[All My Rage]]'' won the 2022 [[Boston Globe–Horn Book Award]], the [[National Book Award for Young People's Literature]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.slj.com/story/aint-burned-all-the-bright-by-jason-reynolds-all-my-rage-by-sabaa-tahir-win-2022-boston-globe%E2%80%93horn-book-awards | title=School Library Journal }}</ref> and the [[Michael L. Printz Award]].''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/Printz-Winner-All-My-Rage-Shares-Universal-Experiences-and-Message-of-Hope-Says-Author-Sabaa-Tahir-2023|title=Printz Winner 'All My Rage' Shares Universal Experiences and Message of Hope Youth Media Awards|work= School Library Journal}}</ref>'' In 2025, her novel ''Heir'' was shortlisted for the inaugural New Adult Book Prize,<ref>{{Cite journal |title='Standout' New Adult Book Prize shortlist reflects 'wealth of talent' in the industry |journal=[[The Bookseller]] |date=2025-08-28 |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/standout-new-adult-book-prize-shortlist-reflects-wealth-of-talent-in-the-industry}}</ref> won the Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novel – Young Adult,<ref>{{Cite web |title=2025 Ignyte Awards Results |url=https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2025-results/ |website=FIYAH Literary Magazine}}</ref> and the Libby Award for Young Adult Book of the Year.<ref name=libby2025>{{cite web |url=https://locusmag.com/2025/03/2025-libby-book-awards-winners/ |title=2025 Libby Book Awards Winners |publisher=Locus Magazine |date=March 6, 2025 |access-date=March 17, 2026 }}</ref>
Tahir has also published non-fiction reviews and essays in ''The New York Times'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/the-nameless-city-by-faith-erin-hicks.html|title=The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks|website=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/18/books/katniss-everdeen-hunger-games.html|title= Katniss Evergreen Hunger Games|website= [[The New York Times]]}}</ref> ''The Washington Post''<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/ms-marvel-why-does-marvels-new-reboot-succeed-because-its-muslim-teen-superhero-is-sweet-conflicted-and-utterly-relatable/2014/02/04/42908ac8-8dc6-11e3-95dd-36ff657a4dae_blog.html|title=MS. MARVEL: Why does Marvel's latest book succeed? Because its new Muslim teen superhero is 'sweet, conflicted and immensely relatable'|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref> and ''Vox''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22770860/sabaa-tahir-motel-families-immigrants|title=The Ghosts of our Motel}}</ref>
== Life == Tahir grew up in the [[Mojave Desert]] in [[Ridgecrest, California]], with her parents and two older brothers.<ref name=":0" /> Her parents had emigrated from [[Pakistan]] to the [[United Kingdom]] before moving their family to the [[United States]].<ref name=":0" /> She attended [[University of California, Los Angeles|UCLA]], during which time she interned at ''[[The Washington Post]]''. After graduation, she took a job there as a copy editor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.slj.com/?detailStory=sljteen_sabaa-tahir-interview|title=Chatting with Sabaa Tahir, SLJTeen Live! 2018 Keynote Speaker|last=Diaz|first=Shelley|website=School Library Journal|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref> She currently lives in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://ew.com/article/2016/09/02/author-sabaa-tahir-ignites-dark-truths-torch-against-night/|title='A Torch Against the Night' author Sabaa Tahir lights fantasy with dark true-life tales|work=EW.com|access-date=2018-01-05|language=en}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
===Fantasy=== ====''An Ember in the Ashes'' series==== * {{cite book|title=[[An Ember in the Ashes]]|date=2015}} * {{cite book|title=[[A Torch Against the Night]]|date=2016}} * {{cite book|title=[[A Reaper at the Gates]]|date=2018}} * {{cite book|title=A Sky Beyond the Storm|date=2020}}
====''Heir'' duology==== (Spin-off to ''An Ember in the Ashes'') *{{cite book|title=Heir|date=2024}} – winner of the 2025 [[Ignyte Awards|Ignyte Award]] for Outstanding Novel – Young Adult,<ref name=ig2025>{{cite web|url=https://ignyteawards.fiyahlitmag.com/2025-results|title=2025 Results|publisher=[[FIYAH Literary Magazine]]|date=October 12, 2025|access-date=October 13, 2025}}</ref> and the [[Libby Book Awards|Libby Award]] for Young Adult Book of the Year.<ref name=libby2025 /> *{{cite book|title=Empire|date=2026}}
=====Graphic novels===== (Prequel to ''An Ember in the Ashes'') * {{cite book|title=A Thief Among the Trees|date=2020}} * {{cite book|title=A Spark Within the Forge|date=2022}} * TBA
===Contemporary=== *{{cite book|title=[[All My Rage]]|date=2022}}
===Short fiction=== * {{cite book|date=2017|chapter=Reirin|title=[[From a Certain Point of View]]|publisher=[[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]]}} * {{cite book|editor-last1=Parker|editor-first1=Natalie C.|date=2017|chapter=Waiting|title=Three Sides of a Heart|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]}} * {{cite journal|editor1-last=Chambers|editor1-first=Veronica|editor2-last=Giles|editor2-first=Jeff|date=2019|title=News of the Day|journal=[[The New York Times]]}} * {{cite book|editor-last1=Ahmed|editor-first1=Samira|date=2023|chapter=What the Winds Stole|title=Magic Has No Borders|publisher=[[HarperTeen]]}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Michael L. Printz Award Winners}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahir, Sabaa}} [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:21st-century American novelists]] [[Category:American fantasy writers]] [[Category:American writers of Pakistani descent]] [[Category:Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:21st-century American women novelists]] [[Category:Novelists from California]] [[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]] [[Category:American writers of young adult literature]] [[Category:American women writers of young adult literature]] [[Category:People from Ridgecrest, California]] [[Category:National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]] [[Category:Michael L. Printz Award winners]]