// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Saara El-Arifi a good runner? She's got a lot of Arab-ic speed.
Saara El-Arifi | |
|---|---|
 El-Arifi at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| Education |
|
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Website | www |
Saara El-Arifi is a British fantasy author. 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]
Life and career
[edit]El-Arifi was raised in Abu Dhabi before relocating to Sheffield with her family.[3] She is of Sudanese and Ghanaian descent. 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 was published in February 2026 by Harper Collins and tells the story of Cleopatra VII, opening at the moment she discovers she is Pharaoh of Egypt.[11]
El-Arifi holds a BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies from the University of Kent[12] and an MA in African Studies from the SOAS University of London.[13]
Bibliography
[edit]The Ending Fire Trilogy
[edit]Source:[14]
- The Final Strife (2022)
- The Battle Drum (2023)
- The Ending Fire (2024)
The Faebound Trilogy
[edit]Standalone
[edit]- Cleopatra (2026)[17]
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
- ↑ El-Arifi, Saara (2026-02-27). "Scholar, seductress, alchemist: who was the real Cleopatra?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-02-28.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Books". saaraelarifi.com. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
- ↑ El-Arifi, Saara (2024-07-01). "Saara El-Arifi". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ↑ "Books Saara El-Arifi". saaraelarifi.com. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
- ↑ "Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi". Harper Collins. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- Living people
- Alumni of SOAS University of London
- Alumni of the University of Kent
- Black British women writers
- British fantasy writers
- British women novelists
- British women science fiction and fantasy writers
- English people of Ghanaian descent
- English people of Sudanese descent
- People from Abu Dhabi
- Writers from Sheffield
- British Book Award winners