SALMA HUSSAIN grew up in the U.A.E. and immigrated to Canada when she was thirteen years old. She has a B.A. (Hon.) in English Literature, with a concentration in creative writing from the University of Calgary, a law degree from the University of Calgary, and a Master's in Law from McGill University. Her poetry and prose have been widely published in various literary magazines. Her chapbook of poetry, What If Maybe and other poems, was published by Baseline Press. She co-hosts a global podcast with Upasna Kakroo on South Asian children's literature called Zubaani. Her first novel, The Secret Diary of Mona Hasan, was a Quill & Quire Book of the Year. Salma writes witty, warm, voice-driven fiction about the surprising ways we grow when life veers off-script. She lives with her family in Toronto.