Nina Hamza, author of Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year
Middle Grade Literature Category, sponsored by Education Minnesota
Each week leading up to the 34th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our 36 finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
Would you tell us one or two things about your finalist book that you are particularly proud of, and why?
I am most proud when kids tell me they see themselves in Ahmed’s story, that this is the first time they’ve seen themselves in any story.
What do you hope that your audience learns or takes away from your book?
That you can learn things everywhere, even when you’re not expecting to, even when you don’t want to.
What advice would you give to an aspiring writer with an interest in your category?
- I try to not to talk/write down to kids
- I read as much middle grade fiction as I can.
- When I read something I love, I try to figure out why.
Tell us something about yourself that is not widely known.
I have a recurring nightmare about not being able get off a ski lift. I have never learned to ski because of this.
Minnesota enjoys a reputation as a place that values literature and reading. If this sentiment rings true for you, what about our home state makes it such a welcoming and conducive place for writers?
I truly think it’s the long winters. It gives us time to sit indoors and read and write and be quiet with our thoughts.
Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, virtually everything about our lives has changed in some way. Has COVID-19 (and its fallout) impacted your writing habits and preferences? Has the unique zeitgeist of the past two years influenced your writing output in any other ways that you can pinpoint?
At the beginning of the pandemic I found I couldn’t read anything, not books, not short stories, not even magazine articles. Eventually I was able to slowly come back to it, and also start writing again. It was a reminder that we can always adapt.
Nina Hamza writes about her experiences as a Muslim and an immigrant and has been published in the Star Tribune and the Chicago Tribune. Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year is her debut novel.