Ausma Zehanat Khan is a Canadian novelist and author of crime and fantasy novels.
Biography
Khan holds a Ph.D. in International Human Rights Law with a research specialization in military intervention and war crimes in the Balkans. She received her LL.B. and LL.M. from the University of Ottawa, and her B.A. in English Literature and Sociology from the University of Toronto. She practiced immigration law in Toronto, and was an international human rights law professor at Northwestern University as well as a human rights and business law professor at York University. Khan was the editor-in-chief of Muslim Girl magazine from 2007 until the magazine's closure.Two documentaries were made about the publication, and it was featured in hundreds of national and international profiles and interviews including CNN International, Current TV, and Al Jazeera English’s "Everywoman". Khan published her first crime novelThe Unquiet Dead in 2015; the book received "best first novel" accolades from both the Arthur Ellis Awards and the Barry Awards in 2016. The Washington Post wrote of the novel: "Throughout Getty and Khattak's solid and comprehensive investigation, Khan's talents are evident. This first in what may become a series is a many-faceted gem. It's a sound police procedural, a somber study of loss and redemption and, most of all, a grim effort to make sure that crimes against humanity are not forgotten." Kirkus Reviews wrote: “Khan's stunning debut is a poignant, elegantly written mystery laced with complex characters who force readers to join them in dealing with ugly truths.” The novel also received a starred review in both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. In 2017, Khan published her fantasy debut, The Bloodprint, the first in The Khorasan Archives, a five-book epic fantasy series. The Bladebone, Book 5, will be published in October 2020. In 2018, Khan's middle-grade non-fiction book Ramadan was published by Orca Books as part of its Origins series. It was selected as a Children's Book Council Notable Social StudiesTrade Book for Young People 2019, as well as the Children's Literature Roundtable of Canada's 2019 Information Book Award Honour Book. It was also nominated for a Hackmatack Children's Choice Award. In 2020, Khan's nonfiction essay "Origins and Destinations" was published by Seal Press in the crime fiction writers' anthology, Private Investigations. Her short story "The Once and Future Qadi" will be forthcoming in the Sword Stone Table anthology, also in 2020. In a 2018 interview with Nick Douglas, published in Life Hacker magazine'', Khan described how she devoted more time to her writing as a novelist when she and her husband began moving more often, and it didn't seem worthwhile to get the qualification to practice law in a short-term home. She currently lives in Colorado.
