KBKL Spotlight on Canadians: Nafiza Azad

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A big Kick-butt Kidlit welcome to author, Nafiza Azad!

Nafiza Azad is a self-identified island girl. She has hurricanes in her blood and dreams of a time she can exist solely on mangoes and pineapple. Born in Lautoka, Fiji, she currently resides in BC, Canada where she reads too many books, watches too many Kdramas and writes stories about girls taking over the world. Her debut YA fantasy, THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME, will be released by Scholastic in 2019.

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Tell us a bit about your latest/upcoming project?

THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME is about Fatima who lives in the City of Noor, a city that lies on the border of a forest and a desert. Her life is changed when she witnesses the untimely death of her mentor, a djinni by the name of Firdaus. She finds out truths about her true self and the world in which she lives. She also discovers the importance of names and her connection to these names and the djinni who rule half of the country and the city she lives in.

As her city and her home is threatened by enemy djinn, Fatima finds herself facing a choice which could save everything and everyone she loves but that will, perhaps, damn her.

What are you reading right now?

I am reading so many things at this moment. Let me tell you about them!

I’m reading WICKED FOX by Kat Cho and THE WAKING FOREST by Alyssa Wees. Both are 2019 debuts and amazing. I am also reading THE WICKED KING by Holly Black and omg, do I even need to say anything about this one? MY NAME IS RED by Orhan Pamuk and I am enjoying how textured the prose is. THE ICARUS GIRL by Helen Oyeyemi and her prose is so beautiful. THE BOOK OF DISQUIET by Fernando Pessoa and I can’t really articulate how beautiful this book is. I am also really enjoying THE BLACK KHAN by Ausma Zehanat Khan and TOO MUCH AND NOT THE MOOD by Durga Chew-Bose.

I read many books at the same time because writing makes it difficult to read consistently so I take sips of beautiful prose here and there and keep myself rejuvenated.

Who is a Canadian author or illustrator that you’d like to see more people discover?

Ishara Deen. She wrote GOD SMITES AND OTHER MUSLIM GIRL PROBLEMS. I believe it was self-published. I read it and I adored it because 1. it’s funny and 2. it is an excellent representation of what Muslim (female) teenagers go through as they try to navigate adolescence and high school.

What’s been the most surprising part of your publishing journey so far?

Selling my story! It happened so quickly. Within one week, if I am remembering correctly. Two months of submission with no news and only rejections and then it sold in a blink. That was the nicest kind of surprise.

When a reader picks up your books, they can always expect to find…

A strong female cast. When I say strong females I don’t mean women who know how to fight physically necessarily. I mean women who value sisterhood and are feminist. I will also probably always have themes of identity as that is something I, too, struggle with.

What’s the most Canadian thing you’ve put in a book?

Noor is extremely diverse and multicultural. It’s a haven for refugees and the streets resound with a hundred different languages. The Canada I live in and love accepts people regardless of their religion, race, and sexual identity. The City of Noor is the same.

What would you like to see more of in the world of Canadian children’s literature?

My experience with Can Lit has been less than stellar to be honest. If I am Canadian, how come my experiences are nowhere to be seen in CanLit? If the literature of a country can be said to be reflective of the national identity of a country, what kind of identity would kid CanLit reflect? Are the stories diverse enough? Are the voices being championed diverse enough? I feel like we are moving in the right direction but I also feel like we can do more. To be completely honest, I am not as familiar with CanLit as I should be and that’s something I need to correct. I have never felt that I belonged among the kid CanLit voices and perhaps I need to change that by being more aware.

If you could spend a day inside of any book, which one would you choose?

This may be cheating but I spent so much time creating Noor City for THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME that if I could, I would spend some time walking its streets and soaking up the atmosphere of a city halved by forest and desert. The music, the food, the chaos, all of these things are so vibrant in my mind, I would love to experience them firsthand.

Lastly, we always end with: what’s your best piece of kick-butt advice?

If you are an aspiring writer, I will tell you three things that have worked for me.

1. Read. As much as you can and as widely as you can.

2. Write as much as you can and in as many styles and genres as you can. Experiment with your voice. Try writing poetry, plays, prose. Don’t stop writing.

3. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t. This does not mean don’t listen to constructive criticism. You definitely should learn to take solid writing advice but don’t listen to anyone tell you don’t have talent and you can’t. Writing can be improved by practice and learning. It requires a little bit of talent but more than talent, it requires sheer bull-headedness and a refusal to give up. So, you can do it. Strive on.

Strive on. Yes! I want that on my wall! Thank you so much for joining us, Nafiza!

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Click here to enter to the Spotlight on Canadians Giveaway! You could win one of 25 prize packs featuring books from all of our amazing creators!

Nafiza Azad Prize Pack – an ARC of THE CANDLE AND THE FLAME

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