World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Sofia Samatar

ソフィア・サマタール

Sofia Samatar

Aliases: صوفيا ساماتار

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1971-10-24 （Northern Indiana, United States）
Nationality
American
Languages
English, Arabic, Somali
Religion
Mennonite
Residence History
Goshen, Indiana → Madison, Wisconsin → Harrisonburg, Virginia

Career

Occupations
Professor, editor, poet, writer
Active Years
2012-2025
Affiliations
James Madison University
Influenced By
Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Rainer Maria Rilke, Somali mythology
Nominations
Nebula Award Best Short Story Finalist 2014 (Selkie Stories Are for Losers), Hugo Award Best Short Story Finalist 2014 (Selkie Stories Are for Losers), PEN/Jean Stein Book Award Finalist 2023 (The White Mosque), Hugo Award Best Novella Finalist 2025 (The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain)

Education

Goshen College
English
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: United States
University of Wisconsin–Madison
African Languages and Literature / Contemporary Arabic Literature
Degree: Master's degree / Ph.D.
Period: MA: 1997
Year of Graduation: 2013
Country: United States
MA 1997, PhD 2013

Awards

British Fantasy Award
2014
Work: A Stranger in Olondria
Category: Best Novel (Robert Holdstock Award)
Organization: British Fantasy Society
Result: Winner
World Fantasy Award
2014
Work: A Stranger in Olondria
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: Winner
Astounding Award for Best New Writer
2014
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: Winner
Crawford Award
2014
Work: A Stranger in Olondria
Organization: International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
Result: Winner
Bernard J. Brommel Award for Biography & Memoir
2023
Work: The White Mosque
Organization: Society of Midland Authors
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Stranger in Olondria

2013 Fantasy

A story of cross-cultural encounter and obsession with literature in the imaginary land of Olondria.

languagecross-culturalismreligion

The Winged Histories

2016 Fantasy

Companion to A Stranger in Olondria told from the perspectives of four women.

waridentitymyth

The White Mosque

2022 Nonfiction / Memoir

A memoir about a trip to Uzbekistan in search of followers of fringe religious leader Claas Epp Jr.

religiontravelidentity

Bibliography

  • A Stranger in Olondria
  • The Winged Histories
  • The White Mosque
  • Tender
  • Monster Portraits
  • Tone
  • Opacities
  • Friendly City: A Year of Walks
  • The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical prosemulticultural perspectivespostmodernism
Recurring Motifs
power of languagereligion and faithmyth and storytelling

Legacy

Acclaimed American fantasy author known for her lyrical style exploring intersections of language and culture, winner of multiple major awards including World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Crawford Awards.

Trivia

  • Father is Somali historian and scholar Said Sheikh Samatar.
  • Mother is Swiss-German Mennonite from North Dakota.
  • Parents met in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1970.
  • Associate Professor of English at James Madison University.
  • Married to writer Keith Miller, two children.