A. M. Dassu
A. M. Dassu is an English writer of fiction and non-fiction.[1][2] In 2017, Dassu won the international We Need Diverse Books mentorship award. Her bestselling[3] debut novel, was published in October 2020, and was shortlisted for the 2021 Waterstone's Children's Books Prize.[4]
Life[edit]
She was born and raised in England and has a mixed heritage originally from Iraq's Baghdad, India, Burma and Pakistan – her father was born in Tanzania.[5]
In January 2021 she became one of The National Literacy Trust‘s Connecting Stories campaign's leading authors, aiming to help inspire a love of reading and writing in children and young people.[6] Boy, Everywhere received a Kirkus Star in February 2021.[7] Dassu's writing has been published by The Huffington Post, Times Educational Supplement, SCOOP Magazine, Lee & Low Books, and DK Books.[8]
Dassu campaigns in support of refugees; she used the advance payments for Boy, Everywhere to help Syrian refugees in the UK.[4] She also set up a We Need Diverse Books grant for supporting an unpublished refugee or immigrant writer.[8] Dassu is patron of The Other Side Of Hope: Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature, a literary magazine edited by immigrants and refugees which aims to celebrate refugee and immigrant communities around the world.[9]
In addition to her work as a writer and campaigner, Dassu is also the deputy editor of SCBWI-BI's Words & Pictures magazine and a director at Inclusive Minds[5] – a CIC that works towards greater inclusion, accessibility and more authentic representation of marginalised groups in books for young people.[10]
Bibliography[edit]
- Dassu, A. M. (2021). Boy, Everywhere. Lee & Low Books, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-64379-196-8.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "About". 7 April 2016.
- ^ "A M Dassu". The Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Bestselling A.M. Dassu visits refugee families in the Black Country for Sandwell Winter Festival". National Literacy Trust. 17 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b Patel, Asha (8 June 2021). "Story of Syrian refugee by Leicestershire author shortlisted for Waterstones Children's Book Prize". Leicestershire Live. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b Zatat, Narjas (10 April 2020). "Meet A.M. Dassu, the British Muslim children's author leading the charge for representation in books". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Dassu, A. M. (7 April 2016). "About A. M. Dassu". A. M. Dassu's official website. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Boy, Everywhere". Kirkus Reviews. 9 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b Leary, Alaina (8 September 2020). "Cover Reveal for Boy, Everywhere by A.M. Dassu". We Need Diverse Books. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Homepage: The Other Side Of Hope". The Other Side Of Hope. Archived from the original on 28 October 2001. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "About Inclusive Minds". Inclusive Minds. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Jensen, Kelly (4 December 2020). "The Best Children's Books of 2020". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
