Samiha Hoque

Shaherazad Shelves (ShSh) is a small independent press and Muslim-owned business. Samiha graduated with a minor in English with honors and a B.S. in the Earth and Environmental Sciences. As the lead editor and director at ShSh, she actively seeks MG, YA, and Adult fiction. She also accepts fantasy chapter book series. (Please note: due to religious reasons, she works mainly with female authors.)

MG, YA, or Adult Fantasy

• Any subgenre of fantasy (dark, portal, urban, court, romantic, etc.)
• Magic-less fantasy, but yes! to mythical creatures like The Princess Academy or Dragon Slippers or magic existing but not used like Ella Enchanted (the book)
• #OWNVOICE second-world fantasy
• If religion is mentioned, it must be monotheistic, like Skylight by Patchree Jones
• Teen fantasy like Sitara, Lady of the Lotus, or Sisters of the Lost Marsh
• Chapter book fantasy like The Magic Tree House series
  • Contemporary chapter books are allowed if there is a Muslim protagonist like Yusuf and Yusra’s Holiday Dilemma series by A. Dawood
• Dream projects: Wuxia, Balkan-inspired fantasy, Tang dynasty-inspired fantasy, prehistoric Earth as a setting (e.g., mammoths, dinosaurs), chapter book/early middle-grade horse or dragon series.

MG, YA, or Adult Sci-Fi

• (Preferably) Eco-fiction/climate themes
• Any type of “punk,” e.g., steampunk, silkpunk like Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen or goldenpunk (sci-fi based on the golden age of Islam)
• Sci-fi genre blends like Blood of the Levant by Abdullah Yousef
• YA and Adult must have a Muslim protagonist
• Dream Project: Military, monster sci-fi like Attack on Titan or Xenoblade Chronicles

YA or Adult Contemporary

• Must have a Muslim protagonist
• Slice of life/high school stories like Flower Child by Atiyah Brinkley
• College/Adult romances like A Little Bit of Love by Arva Bhavnagarwala — bonus to see a non-super-rich love interest!
• Upmarket fiction (literary aspects + high-stakes plot) like Home Is a Silhouette by Kataru Yahya
• Anything that explores or critiques culture, region-based conflicts
• Dream Projects: Muslim romance novels starting after marriage, arranged marriage love stories, and love life of essential workers (factory, janitorial, etc.).

Adult Historical Fiction

• Must have a Muslim protagonist
• All time periods, preferably with romance sprinkled in
• Anything after WW2 might be a hard sell unless it has an interesting set-up (e.g., Bangladesh’s independence in 1971)

Adult Nonfiction

• Must have a Muslim theme
• Counter-culture essays/collections
• Books about Muslim traditions and anything that includes science with Islam!
• Dream projects: essay collection critiquing post-modernism, modern beauty standards, or secular religion.

Overall things to consider:

• Moral-driven books/moral characters
• Muslims in fiction
• Stories that compare to ANY book ShSh has published previously
• Fantasy only with little or no magic
• Girls working with boys, not against, re: Studio Ghibli
• F/f friendships as an integral part of a story, as well as female villains!
• The inherent diversity of Muslims. While experiences vary, ShSh leans toward orthodoxy (Sufism is orthodoxy! Samiha will die on this hill)
• NOTE: Samiha is a hands-on editor. She will comb through your work!

ANTI-MSWL:

• Horror/gore
• Romantasy
• Mystery/thriller/detective (OK if it’s in MG)
• Monotheism as an antagonist force
• Anything about France, Belgium, Netherlands/Denmark, or Portugal that doesn’t address their colonial history
• “Issue books” that bash a culture, people, etc.
• Descriptive/explicit sexual actions (non-sensual, closed-door, or references are OK in adult)
• “Stabby” heroines or morally gray protagonists (unless written purposefully)

Submission Guidelines

Submissions should be emailed to https://querymanager.com/query/ShaherazadShelves

I accept both unagented and agented submissions via querymanager. Emails only for solicited work.

Guidelines & Details