Saara El-Arifi is a British fantasy author of Sudanese and Ghanaian descent. Her debut novel, The Final Strife, was published in 2022 by Del Rey Books in the United States and HarperVoyager in the United Kingdom.[1] It is the first in the Ending Fire trilogy, which draws inspiration from West African and Arabian mythology, and was selected as one of Amazon's best books of 2022.[2]
Saara El-Arifi | |
|---|---|
 El-Arifi at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | Abu Dabi, UAE |
| Alma mater |
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| Years active | 2022–present |
| Website | www |
Life and career
editEl-Arifi was raised in Abu Dhabi before relocating to Sheffield with her family.[3] Her father was Muslim and her mother was raised Christian.[4]
Her career as an author began in 2022 with the publication of The Final Strife, represented by Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.[5] Faebound, the first in a new romantasy trilogy,[6][7] was published in 2024 and became an instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller.[8] The novel was also longlisted for the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2024.[9] In 2023, rights to El-Arifi's next two projects, Cleopatra and The Queen of Sheba, were acquired by the Borough Press.[10] Cleopatra will tell the story of Cleopatra VII, opening at the moment she discovers she is Pharaoh of Egypt.
El-Arifi holds a BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies from the University of Kent[11] and an MA in African Studies from the SOAS University of London.[12]
Bibliography
editThe Ending Fire series
edit- The Final Strife (2022)
- The Battle Drum (2023)
- The Ending Fire (2024)
The Faebound series
edit- Faebound (2024)
- Cursebound (2025)[13]
References
edit- ^ Cowdrey, Katherine. "Double six-figure deals for African-inspired epic fantasy debut" The Bookseller, 8 July 2020
- ^ Fiorillo, Katherine. "The 20 best books of 2022 so far, according to Amazon editors". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ Wright, Jonathan (2024-01-24). "Reimagining fantasy: meet one of the brightest new stars of the genre". SFX. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Saara El-Arifi on the Inspiration Behind The Final Strife". Waterstones.com. 2022-05-20.
- ^ "Saara El-Arifi's Signs 2 Six-Figure Deals for Her Debut Novel The Final Strife". brittlepaper.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Open Book, Madeleine Grey". BBC. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ "The best fantasy novels to read". Good Housekeeping. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ Hackett, Laura (2024-04-29). "Why young women love book boxes — the craze shaking up publishing". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ Wood, Heloise (2024-05-09). "TikTok unveils new partnership with National Literacy Trust". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ Bayley, Sian. "Borough Press pre-empts two literary historical novels by El-Arifi" The Bookseller, 16 October 2023
- ^ Shukla, Nils (2022-07-19). "Interview with Saara El-Arifi (The Final Strife)". The Fantasy Hive. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ "Saara El-Arifi | Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ^ El-Arifi, Saara (2024-07-01). "Saara El-Arifi". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.