Laila Sabreen: Emory junior’s debut novel showcases young Black Muslim women’s voices

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Emory junior’s debut novel showcases young Black Muslim women’s voices | Emory University | Atlanta GA

A junior in Emory College of Arts and Sciences will make her literary debut Feb. 8 with a book heralded as both one of the “best” and “most anticipated” young adult novels of 2022. But you can be forgiven if “You Truly Assumed” wasn’t on your radar.

The Robert W. Woodruff Scholar from the Washington, D.C., area has kept her accomplishment close.

Laila Sabreen didn’t bring up the book with the professor who oversaw her yearlong research into the portrayal of Black Girlhood in Black women’s fiction — a question her novel addresses through the story of three Black Muslim teens who become friends after a terrorist attack heightens the Islamophobia they face.

Sabreen did discuss her writing with friends. But, after they recorded her signing her agent contract as a first-year student in the Raoul Hall lounge, most conversations centered on more traditional college chatter like weekend plans, classes and exams.

“My writing was originally just for me,” Sabreen says. “Then I realized it could go somewhere a lot of stories don’t, with Black Muslim characters written by a Black Muslim author. I hope (the novel) makes space for more Black Muslim authors to write whatever story is authentic to them.”

Full article: Emory junior’s debut novel showcases young Black Muslim women’s voices

Comment by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on June 1, 2022 at 8:06pm: ‘To reach as many people as I possibly can’

It is also an exciting time to be Laila Sabreen, in both author and student form. She stepped away from serving in Emory’s BSA to focus on book events this spring, but she continues mentoring with Matriculate, helping low-income high schoolers navigate the college application process.

She also has begun digging in on her honors thesis and recently submitted her second novel. Written during the first book’s editing, the novel is an examination of grief and loss Sabreen wrote after the sudden death of a family member just before she came to Emory.

“A lot comes out in my writing. It’s my way of processing what I’m feeling and thinking,” she says.

Sabreen has told friends that a short story – part of an anthology due next year – was loosely inspired by her first semester on campus.

“I know she will keep it general, but I can’t wait to read it,” says junior Helena Zeleke, an NBB major who became close with Sabreen in STEM Pathways.

“Being around Laila, seeing her go after the things that seem unimaginable and succeeding, has made me wonder what is out there for me to try,” adds Zeleke, who applied and was admitted to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with Sabreen’s encouragement. “It’s powerful to have a friend like that.”

Lest it not take any future readers by surprise, Sabreen’s powers also include drafting a third novel over the recent winter break. That way she can focus on her favorite part of writing — the revision — while making time for her academic work.

“My interests change, so I want to be able to shift focus,” Sabreen says. “I want to reach as many people as I possibly can, when I’m ready.”

Comment by Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص on June 1, 2022 at 8:38pm: Laila Sabreen is a writer of young adult contemporary. Raised in the Washington, DC area, she currently attends Emory University and majors in English and Sociology. Her love of writing began as a love of reading when she fell in love with the Angelina Ballerina series. When she isn’t writing, she can be found working on essays, creating playlists that are way too long, and watching This Is Us.