World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Amal El-Mohtar

アマル・エル=モハタル

Amal El-Mohtar

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1984-12-13 (Ottawa, Canada)
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
Ottawa, Canada (birthplace, grew up, current) → Lebanon (two years starting age 6)

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, editor, book reviewer, creative writing instructor
Active Years
2006-2025
Affiliations
Goblin Fruit (editor), New York Times Book Review (reviewer), Carleton University (instructor), University of Ottawa (instructor)
Nominations
Nebula Award for Best Short Story 2010 'The Green Book', Nebula Award for Best Short Story 2015 'Madeleine', Locus Award for Best Short Story 2015 'Madeleine', World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction 2015 'Pockets', World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction 2016 'Seasons of Glass and Iron'

Awards

Hugo Award for Best Short Story
2017
Work: Seasons of Glass and Iron
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: Won
Hugo Award for Best Novella
2020
Work: This Is How You Lose the Time War
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: Won
Nebula Award for Best Short Story
2017
Work: Seasons of Glass and Iron
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association
Result: Won
Nebula Award for Best Novella
2019
Work: This Is How You Lose the Time War
Organization: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association
Result: Won
Locus Award for Best Short Story
2015
Work: The Truth About Owls
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: Won
Locus Award for Best Novella
2020
Work: This Is How You Lose the Time War
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

This Is How You Lose the Time War

2019 speculative fiction

A novella depicting a forbidden romance between time-traveling enemies, co-written with Max Gladstone. Won Hugo, Nebula, and other awards.

lovetime travelwarepistolary
Adaptations
  • [Television] TBD (optioned)

The Honey Month

2010 short fiction collection

Collected short fiction.

fantasypoetic

The River Has Roots

2025 novella

Her first solo novella.

Seasons of Glass and Iron

2016 short story

Fairy tale mashup. Won Hugo, Nebula, Locus awards.

feminismmyth

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical prosepoetic languagefantastic
Recurring Motifs
queer lovemythic elementstime and memory

Legacy

Renowned in speculative fiction for innovative short stories and novellas, multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner. Influential as editor of Goblin Fruit.

Trivia

  • Of Lebanese descent born in Canada.
  • Openly bisexual.
  • Editor of fantasy poetry quarterly Goblin Fruit since 2006.
  • Science fiction and fantasy book reviewer for New York Times Book Review since 2018.