Debut You is an interview feature on Our Stories Matter blog. Debut authors, who have released or have upcoming releases in 2022, are given five questions to answer about themselves and their book. Currently, the questions are the same for all authors. We hope you enjoy getting to know Laila Sabreen and can offer your support. Go here for past Debut You features.
(Photo Credit: Nohelia Valentin)
Describe yourself in five words, then expound on one of them.
I would describe myself in five words as creative, persistent, compassionate, diligent, and curious.
I like to think of myself as always being curious about the world around me and how I move through it, which is a large reason why I’m a writer. That’s also why I enjoy writing stories that feature different points of view because I find it really engaging to take one event and show how it can cause so many similar or differing reactions depending on the character.
Explain your book’s journey—how long did it take—from idea to publication?
From idea to publication, You Truly Assumed’s journey has taken about four years. I began working on the first draft towards the end of 2018, back when I was in high school, and it will release February 8, 2022. I wrote and revised You Truly Assumed on my own before applying and participating in a few writing mentorship programs, which really helped me to find my community. Around the summer before I started college, I began querying, and I signed with my agent a couple of months after. We did edits before going out on submission to publishers at the beginning of 2020, and then You Truly Assumed sold during the summer of the same year.
Belief in oneself is important; besides you, who has been your cheerleader(s) throughout this process?
In addition to my family and friends outside of the writing community, Adiba Jaigirdar, the author of The Henna Wars and Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating, was my mentor in Author Mentor Match and has been a huge cheerleader for me ever since. She’s been a mentor and friend to me beyond the program, and she definitely helped me shape You Truly Assumed into the story it is today. Kristen R. Lee, the author of Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman, is another one of my cheerleaders, and we actually met through Author Mentor Match as we were both mentees during the same round. Lane Clarke, the author of Love Times Infinity, is another one of my cheerleaders. We connected through Twitter and just automatically clicked. Kristen and Lane are also 2022 debuts, so it’s been really great to be a part of each other’s support systems!
Understanding your audience is essential. What do you know for sure about the audience you are writing for?This is a really interesting question! I know that most teens and young adults are curious, creative, and passionate. With You Truly Assumed, specifically, I wrote it for Black girls, especially Black Muslim girls. There’s a lack of representation of Black Muslim teens in YA, and so I hope that You Truly Assumed helps to combat that problem and that it is able to affirm Black Muslim teens who read it.
Tell us about your book.
I like to describe You Truly Assumed as Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed meets the Netflix show Dear White People.
It follows Sabriya, who starts a blog for Muslim girls to combat a rise in anti-Muslim hate that occurs after a terrorist attack occurs and the perpetrator is assumed to be a Muslim. Soon after, two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join her to run the blog, and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so does the pushback and the racist and anti-Muslim comments. When the three are threatened, they must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.
YOU did it, congratulations! Your story is going to be read by children or teens, educators, parents, librarians, book bloggers, etc. How do you feel, and are there any other projects in the works—that you can discuss?
I feel beyond thrilled right now! It’s such a joy to write for teens and young adults, and I’m doing my best to stay present and take in everything that my debut experience has to offer. Regarding other projects, my next one, Study Break (an anthology that I’m a part of), is in the works. This YA anthology releases with Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan in Winter 2023, and it features short stories written by Gen Z contributors for Gen Z readers. The line-up of writers is incredible, and each of the short stories is centered around the same fictional college campus, which I think is really neat!
You Truly Assumed
Laila Sabreen | Inkyard Press | February 8, 2022 | YA | Amazon | Bookshop | IndieBound
Laila Sabreen is a young adult contemporary writer who was raised in the Washington DC area. She currently attends Emory University where she is double majoring in Sociology and English. Her love of writing began as a love of reading, which started when she used to take weekly trips to her local library. There she fell in love with the Angelina Ballerina series, so much so that she started to write Angelina Ballerina fanfiction at the age of five (though she did not know it was fanfiction at the time). When she isn’t writing, she can be found working on essays, creating playlists that are way too long, and watching This Is Us.
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