Amal El-Mohtar


Amal El-Mohtar is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine Goblin Fruit since 2006.
El-Mohtar began reviewing science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review in February 2018. She has worked as a creative writing instructor at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. In 2018 she also served as a host on Brandon Sanderson’s creative writing podcast Writing Excuses for Season 13.

Personal life

El-Mohtar was born in Ottawa, Ontario to a family of Lebanese descent. She grew up in Ottawa, with the exception of two years spent in Lebanon beginning when she was six years old.
She married Stuart West in 2015.

Awards and honors

El-Mohtar has received the following awards:
Other awards her short fiction has been nominated for include the 2010 Nebula Award ; the 2016 Nebula Award ; the 2016 World Fantasy Award ; and the 2017 World Fantasy Award.
Her book with Max Gladstone, This is How You Lose the Time War, won the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novella.

Selected works

El-Mohtar’s full bibliography includes an extensive list of short stories, poems, essays, and reviews.Her most notable works include a short story collection and novella.