Suad Kamardeen

An award-winning British-Nigerian Muslim writer, editor, and mentor whose work amplifies the voices, histories, and cultures of Black and Muslim women.

A  graduate of the MSt Creative Writing programme at the University of Oxford, she brings both literary excellence and precision to her craft. With nearly a decade of editorial experience across academic publishers (Oxford University Press, Emerald Publishing) and trade publishers including Pan Macmillan and David Fickling Books, Suad specialises in helping writers bridge scholarly rigour with accessible, compelling storytelling. She understands both the art of exceptional writing and the realities of navigating today's publishing landscape.

Her fiction has garnered significant recognition: her young adult novel Never Enough won the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2022 and earned runner-up position for the FAB Prize 2021, whilst her adult novel was shortlisted for the Stylist Prize for Feminist Fiction 2021. Most recently, her short fiction was longlisted for the 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Currently working with a literary agent on her debut novel, Suad brings insider knowledge of the submission process alongside formal training and editorial expertise.

Founder of Qalb Writers Collective, where Muslim women writers stop shrinking and start shining, Suad is deeply committed to fostering literary community. Her writing explores the complexities of female friendships, family dynamics, belonging, identity, and joy—always with an eye toward bearing witness to experiences often overlooked in mainstream literature.