Wikipedia

Amal El-Mohtar

Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984[1]) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction,[2] best known for the 2019 novella This Is How You Lose the Time War. She is the editor of Goblin Fruit and reviews science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review.

Amal El-Mohtar
El-Mohtar in 2017
El-Mohtar in 2017
Born (1984-12-13) 13 December 1984 (age 41)
Ottawa, Canada
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction, fantasy
Notable workThis Is How You Lose the Time War
Notable awardsHugo Award for Best Short Story (2017)
Hugo Award for Best Novella (2020)
Nebula Award for Best Short Story (2016)
Nebula Award for Best Novella (2019)
Locus Award for Best Short Story (2015, 2017)
Locus Award for Best Novella (2020)

Early life and education

edit

El-Mohtar was born in Ottawa, Ontario to a family of Lebanese descent. She said that her parents told her that she comes from a long lineage of poets. She grew up in Ottawa with the exception of two years spent in Lebanon beginning when she was six years old. It was during those two years that she first developed a love for fantasy and science fiction (she credits her Lebanese cousin with first introducing her to Doctor Who), and also wrote her first poem.[1][3]

As of 2026, she is pursuing a PhD in English at Carleton University and teaches creative writing at the University of Ottawa.[4][5]

Writing career

edit

El-Mohtar has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine Goblin Fruit since 2006.[6]

She began reviewing science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review in February 2018.[7] She has worked as a creative writing instructor at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.[8] In 2018, she also served as a host on Brandon Sanderson's creative writing podcast Writing Excuses for Season 13.[9]

Her 2019 novella, This Is How You Lose the Time War, co-written with Max Gladstone, won the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novella, the 2020 Locus Award for Best Novella, 2020 Ignyte Award for Outstanding Novella, and the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella.[10][11][12][13] It was a finalist for the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award, the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prize inaugural Ray Bradbury Prize, and the 2019 Kitschies.[14][15][16] The book also achieved second place for the 2020 Theodore Sturgeon Award.[17]

Amal El-Mohtar, winner of the Best Short Story Hugo, at the Hugo Award Ceremony 2017 at Worldcon in Helsinki

El-Mohtar announced in 2019 that This Is How You Lose the Time War had been optioned for television, with scripts to be written by herself and Gladstone.[18]

In 2025, her first solo novella, The River Has Roots, was published by Tor Books. It won the 2025 Nebula Award for Best Novella and 2026 Locus Award for Best Novella. It received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was named one of "The 35 Best Books of 2025" by Esquire.[19]

"The core tale will be relatable regardless of a reader’s genre affinity: an ode to sisters’ secret languages, a paean to petty adolescent envy reshaped into the foundation for growing together into adulthood, an anthem for bloody retribution…A book you’ll want to revisit like a favorite song, especially once you know the words to sing along." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review of The River Has Roots[20]

Amal El-Mohtar reading, Åcon 2019.

Her fourth book, Seasons of Glass & Iron: Stories, was published by Tor Books on March 24, 2026. The collection was named one of "The Best Books of 2026" by Esquire.[21]

"El-Mohtar writes beautifully of ancestry, culture, and the natural world—particularly birds and gemstones—and wades thoughtfully through the depths of sorrow, isolation, and otherness…A collection that defies categorization, but is alive on every page." — Kirkus Reviews, review of Seasons of Glass & Iron: Stories[22]

Personal life

edit

She has been married to her husband, Stu West, since 2015.[23][5] They live in Ottawa and Glasgow.[24][25] El-Mohtar is bisexual.[26]

Awards

edit
Year[27] Title Award Category Result Ref
2009 "Songs to an Ancient City" Rhysling Award Best Short Poem Won [28]
"Damascus Divides the Lovers by Zero; or, The City Is Never Finished" (with Catherynne M. Valente) Rhysling Award Best Long Poem Third Place [28]
2010 "The Green Book" Nebula Award Short Story Nominated [29]
2011 "Peach-Creamed Honey" Rhysling Award Best Short Poem Won [30]
2014 "Turning the Leaves" Rhysling Award Best Short Poem Won [31]
2015 "The Truth About Owls" Locus Award Short Story Won [32]
"Pockets" World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated [33]
"Madeleine" Nebula Award Short Story Nominated [34]
2016 Locus Award Short Story Nominated [35]
"Seasons of Glass and Iron" Nebula Award Short Story Won [36]
2017 Aurora Award Short Fiction Finalist [37]
Hugo Award Short Story Won [38][8]
Locus Award Short Story Won [39]
World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated [40]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Finalist [41]
2019 This is How You Lose the Time War BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Won [42]
Kitschies Novella Finalist [16]
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Ray Bradbury Prize Finalist [14]
Nebula Award Novella Won [43][44]
Shirley Jackson Award Novella Finalist [15]
2020 Aurora Award Best Short Fiction Won [45]
Hugo Award Novella Won [35]
Locus Award Novella Won [46]
Ignyte Award Novella Won [13]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Second Place [17]
2024 "John Hollowback and the Witch" World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated [47]
2025 The River Has Roots BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Nominated [48]
Nebula Award Novella Won [49]
2026 Aurora Award Novelette/Novella Pending [50]
British Fantasy Award Novella Pending [51]
Hugo Award Novella Pending [52]
Ignyte Award Novella Pending [53]
Locus Award Novella Won [35]

Selected works

edit

El-Mohtar's full bibliography includes an extensive list of short stories, poems, essays, and reviews.[54]

Novellas

Short story collections

Notes

edit

References

edit
  1. 1 2 "Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone: Letter Space". Locus. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  2. ↑ McDermott, J. M. (November 2011). "Nebula Awards Interview: Amal El-Mohtar". Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Amal El-Mohtar, Pocket Interview No. 3". STORYOLOGICAL.
  4. ↑ "Amal El-Mohtar". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  5. 1 2 "Amal El-Mohtar, Obviously, There Are Fairies". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
  6. ↑ El-Mohtar, Amal (25 October 2013). "Interview: Amal El-Mohtar". Amazing Stories (Interview). Interviewed by Diane Severson Mori. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Amal El-Mohtar Replaces N.K. Jemisin as The New York Times Book Review's Otherworldly Columnist". Tor.com. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  8. 1 2 Blackmore, Olivia (15 August 2017). "Ottawa writer's 'fairy-tale mashup' wins prestigious Hugo Award for science-fiction". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  9. ↑ Writing Excuses podcast hosts https://writingexcuses.com/about-2/
  10. ↑ 2019 Nebula Award Finalists Announced Archived 2020-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, at Science Fiction Writers of America, published February 20, 2020; retrieved February 20, 2020
  11. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (30 May 2020). "Announcing the 2019 Nebula Awards Winners!". Tor.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  12. ↑ 2020 Hugo Awards Announced Archived 2020-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, at The Hugo Awards; retrieved August 1, 2020
  13. 1 2 "Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  14. 1 2 "2019 Book Prize Winners & Finalists". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  15. 1 2 "Nominees Announced for the 2019 Shirley Jackson Awards". Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  16. 1 2 "2019 Kitschies Shortlists". Locus. 9 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  17. 1 2 "Suzanne Palmer Wins the 2020 Theodore Sturgeon Award". 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  18. ↑ This is How You Lose the Time War Archived 2021-01-24 at the Wayback Machine, by Cheryl Morgan, at Cheryl-Morgan.com; retrieved October 27, 2019
  19. ↑ "The 35 Best Books of 2025". Esquire. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  20. ↑ "The River Has Roots". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  21. ↑ "The Best Books of 2026 (so far)". Esquire. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  22. ↑ "SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  23. ↑ "Landing Myself a Husband". Amal El-Mohtar. 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  24. ↑ "Worldcon 2019 Schedule". Amal El-Mohtar. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  25. ↑ Episodes, Past; Wong, Interviews Adam Ehrlich Sachs Sam J. Miller Amal El-Mohtar Carmen Maria Machado Violet Allen Yukimi Ogawa Sofia Samatar Alyssa; Reviews, Articles &; Newsletter; About; Patreon; Episodes, Past; Wong, Interviews/Adam Ehrlich SachsSam J. MillerAmal El-MohtarCarmen Maria MachadoViolet AllenYukimi OgawaSofia SamatarAlyssa; Sachs, Adam Ehrlich. "Amal El-Mohtar". Storyological. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
  26. ↑ El-Mohtar, Amal ) [@tithenai] (10 June 2020). "I am here to tell you that I, a bisexual cis woman in Pride Month 2020, am harmed by JKR's terrible essay..." (Tweet). Retrieved 21 November 2024 – via Twitter.
  27. ↑ year based on official award year
  28. 1 2 "The 2009 Rhysling Winners". sfpoetry.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  29. ↑ "SFWA announces the 2010 Nebula Award Nominees". 22 February 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "The 2011 Rhysling Winners". sfpoetry.com. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  31. ↑ "The 2014 Rhysling Winners". sfpoetry.com. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  32. ↑ "2015 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "World Fantasy Awards 2016". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  34. ↑ "Nebula Awards". SFWA. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  35. 1 2 3 "Amal El-Mohtar Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  36. ↑ "Announcing the 2016 Nebula Awards Winners". Tor.com. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  37. ↑ "2017 Aurora Award Winners". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  38. ↑ "2017 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  39. ↑ "2017 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  40. ↑ "Nominees". World Fantasy Convention. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  41. ↑ "2017 Sturgeon Award Finalists". locusmag.com. Retrieved 2026-06-13.
  42. ↑ "2019 BSFA Award winners". 19 May 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  43. ↑ "2019 Nebula Award Finalists Announced". The Nebula Awards®. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  44. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (30 May 2020). "Announcing the 2019 Nebula Awards Winners!". Tor.com. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  45. ↑ The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA). "2020 Aurora Awards". Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  46. ↑ "2026 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 31 May 2026.
  47. ↑ "2024 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus Online. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  48. ↑ "The British Science Fiction Association Awards". British Science Fiction Association. Archived from the original on 12 March 2026. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  49. ↑ "SFWA Announces 61st Annual Nebula Awards Winners". 6 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  50. ↑ "2026 Aurora Nominees". 20 April 2026. Retrieved 26 April 2026.
  51. ↑ "The British Fantasy Awards 2026 Shortlists!". 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  52. ↑ "2026 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards Finalists". Locus. 21 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  53. ↑ "2026 Ignyte Awards Finalists". Locus Online. 8 June 2026. Retrieved 8 June 2026.
  54. ↑ Full bibliography https://amalelmohtar.com/bibliography/
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amal_El-Mohtar&oldid=1361020018"