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Join Mizna and Moon Palace Books on Monday, May 28th at 6pm for an evening reading with authorJennifer Zeynab Joukhadar. Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar is a Syrian American author. Originally from New York City, Jennifer was born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. Her writing focuses on themes of Syrian American and Arab American identity.

“E. M. Forster taught us that ‘fiction is truer than history because it goes beyond the evidence.’ Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar’s magic first novel is a testimony to that maxim. We’ve all been aware of the plight of Syrian refugees, but in this richly imaginative story we see one small family – both haunted by history and saved by myth – work their way west. It’s beautiful and lovely and eye-opening.” (Chris Bohjalian, bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and The Guest Room)

Where: Moon Palace Books
When: May 28, 2018 – 6 PM

The Map of Salt and Stars is out NOW! You can purchase Jennifer’s book at Moon Palace’s lovely store or on their website: http://moonpalacebooks.com/?q=h.tviewer&using_sb=status&qsb=keyword&qse=ULpFLNJxI5a-B2hZeXOvNg

THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS tells the story of Nour, a 12-year-old Manhattan-born girl whose mother moves her and her sisters back to their homeland of Syria after her father’s death. Unfortunately, the family moves just in time for the escalating civil war to come to their city of Homs, and when a shell destroys their home they are forced to flee across the Middle East and Northern Africa as refugees, looking for a safe place to settle as borders slam shut around them. On her harrowing journey, Nour comforts herself by retelling the ancient legend of Rawiya, a medieval girl who journeyed with a famous map maker across the same lands Nour now travels in order to create a map of her world. This book is a powerfully narrated and masterfully written exploration of a country in turmoil, and the inspiring resilience of the people devastated by its conflicts.

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar is a Syrian American author. Originally from New York City, Jennifer was born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother. Her writing focuses on themes of Syrian American and Arab American identity. She is a member of the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI) and of American Mensa. Her short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, The Saturday Evening Post, PANK Magazine, The Normal School, Mizna, and elsewhere. She is a 2017-2020 Montalvo Arts Center Lucas Artists Program Literary Arts Fellow and an alum of the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) and the Tin House Writers’ Workshop. Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net. For more information, please visit JenniferJoukhadar.com.