Kaatiba | كاتبة : writer, author (f. declension)

First there was the pen...

...and then there was a woman who daydreamed her way through life, read like a dragon hoarding gold, and won't stop trying to capture the worlds in her head - no matter how elusive they prove to be.

Hello! I'm Sumayyah! I'm a Muslim writer of fiction and poetry. I'm based in Canada and I'm the co-founder of Sakina Literary Society. I'm also a photographer.

Latest Post

A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth: A Book Review

While the opening didn't immediately hook me, as I was worried that the protagonist would devolve into a whiny, woe-is-me character, I was soon swiftly entranced (and thankfully proved to be worrying for nothing) by this story. It's a dark fairytale retelling of an already dark fairytale The Six Swans, with some changes.

Books

currently in progress

The Storyteller, The Djinn, and The Prince

A Muslim-themed fantasy inspired by One Thousand and One Nights, featuring a kidnapped prince, djinn, and a revenge plot decades in the making. 

Oracle

A very loose retelling of Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, featuring an oracle who isn't, an assassin who won't kill her mark, a usurper queen who was once a hero, and much betrayal.  

Rivener

A post-apocalyptic fantasy featuring a woman with a destructive power, an enslaved wolf shifter, and their run for freedom from the hunters who hound them. ​

Short Stories

completed

The Queen, the Lion, & the Rings

Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. 
​Or, Susan Pevensie's story, continued.​

A Net of Stars, Woven

A flash fiction collection featuring various figures of Greek and Roman mythology, both mortals and immortals alike.​

The Peacock, The Crown, & The River

A fable about how the peacock earned his beautiful colours.

October Odds

A flash fiction collection built on prompts provided the Fictober 2019 writer's event, all featuring a dash of oddness.