Uzma Jalaluddin is a Canadian columnist, writer, and teacher. Her debut novel, Ayesha at Last (2019), was a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist, Cosmopolitan UK Book of the Year, and Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2019.
Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On (2021), was named a Best Romance Novel by the Washington Post. It is currently in development for film by Amazon Studios and Mindy Kaling.
Uzma Jalaluddin grew up in Scarborough, a diverse suburb of Toronto. Her parents immigrated to Canada from Hyderabad, India.
She wrote her first book when she was eight years old. Icy Water’s Bad Day is the gripping, four-page story of a doomed ice cube that is swallowed and then slowly dissolves inside the stomach of a human. The book has never been published.
Uzma studied English literature at the University of Toronto and trained to be a high school teacher.
Jalaluddin is a former contributor to The Toronto Star, where she has a regular column, Maple Syrup, about modern Muslim life and has written for The Atlantic. She’s also been a guest on the TV show Cityline, speaking on the Muslim experience.
Her first novel, Ayesha at Last, is a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in a close-knit immigrant neighborhood. It took her 7 years to write the book from start to finish. The novel was listed for the Toronto Book Awards, was shortlisted for the 2019 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, and was longlisted for the Stephen Leacock Humour Award.
Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On, is about a rivalry between two competing halal restaurants.
Her most recent work is Much Ado about Nada (2023), which is a sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion.
Uzma Jalaluddin lives near Toronto with her husband and two sons, where she also teaches high school.
Photo credit: uzmajalaluddin.com
