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Overview
In the mold of Arabian Nights, this groundbreaking YA anthology--featuring seventeen Muslim women writers--links together fantastical stories that a group of refugees tell one another within a riveting frame story. On her way across the desert, fleeing the soldiers who have destroyed all she knows, one refugee meets another. And another and another. As they travel together, on a journey in search of safety, they take turns telling one another stories--stories woven in the imagination; tales with echoes of the reality they face now. Tales of young people stolen away by jinn and tales of siblings rescuing one another; tales of lands encroached on by settlers and abandoned by rain; tales of magic found in caves, deserts, mountains, lakes, and, above all, in people, community, and faith. With a frame story written by Nafiza Azad and Intisar Khanani interwoven with stories from fifteen additional authors of various backgrounds, drawing on the mythologies and legends of their cultures, this extraordinary collection will appeal to lovers of fantasy and to those looking for books that center refugees and diverse narratives. Stories contributed by:
Hanna Alkaf
Sara Sharaf Beg
Loretta Chefchaouni
Heba Helmy
Zeyneb Holdridge
Ausma Zehanat Khan
Diana Ma
Ardo Omer
Haneen Oriqat
Sarah Mughal Rana
Farah Naz Rishi
Laila Sabreen
Zeba Shahnaz
Ream Shukairy
Zaynah Qutubuddin
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9781536241549
- ISBN-10: 1536241547
- Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
- Publish Date: September 2026
- Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
- Page Count: 496
- Reading Level: Ages 12-UP
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A Thousand Nights is a collection of adventures and fables, each story accumulated like “shiny coins” and an homage to storytelling’s ability to carry people through the darkest of times. Edited by Nafiza Azad, a finalist for the Morris Award for her novel The Candle and the Flame, and Intisar Khanani, author of the Sunbolt Chronicles and the Dauntless Path series, the collection boasts 15 tales by Muslim women writers. The result is a layered compilation that embodies culture, faith and especially a homeland.
Azad and Khanani skillfully interlink the 15 stories to propel a core narrative. Each chapter is either a step forward in the four main characters' narrative or a pause to reflect on the land they are leaving and the memories they aim to preserve through fables passed down through generations. The saga begins with Nusaybah, who must leave her home only moments after burying her mother. She meets Khawla, who has also known loss, and joins Nusaybah to find refuge. As they travel, they encounter Sameer and Farzad, who have been separated from their fathers. Sidestepping kidnappers, finding refuge with fellow travelers and even adopting a feline companion, the new friends must work together to keep one another safe despite the odds stacked against them. Fables and parables are told along the way—shared on the back of a bouncing wagon, on the edge of sleep by an oasis or simply to pass the time. Mystical tales of giants, devious jinn, phoenixes and glittering talking birds are told as respite from the pain of losing their homelands to tyrants and war.
The exchange of tales between Nusaybah, Khawla, Sameer and Farzad—as well as the many people they encounter—reinforces the preciousness of identity when outside forces aim to strip it away. Expertly unfolding a realistic story of survival to create a gripping anthology, A Thousand Nights provides a beautiful tribute to the magic of storytelling and its ability to create bright stars of hope and community in even the darkest of midnight skies.
A Thousand Nights is a collection of adventures and fables, each story accumulated like “shiny coins” and an homage to storytelling’s ability to carry people through the darkest of times. Edited by Nafiza Azad, a finalist for the Morris Award for her novel The Candle and the Flame, and Intisar Khanani, author of the Sunbolt Chronicles and the Dauntless Path series, the collection boasts 15 tales by Muslim women writers. The result is a layered compilation that embodies culture, faith and especially a homeland.
Azad and Khanani skillfully interlink the 15 stories to propel a core narrative. Each chapter is either a step forward in the four main characters' narrative or a pause to reflect on the land they are leaving and the memories they aim to preserve through fables passed down through generations. The saga begins with Nusaybah, who must leave her home only moments after burying her mother. She meets Khawla, who has also known loss, and joins Nusaybah to find refuge. As they travel, they encounter Sameer and Farzad, who have been separated from their fathers. Sidestepping kidnappers, finding refuge with fellow travelers and even adopting a feline companion, the new friends must work together to keep one another safe despite the odds stacked against them. Fables and parables are told along the way—shared on the back of a bouncing wagon, on the edge of sleep by an oasis or simply to pass the time. Mystical tales of giants, devious jinn, phoenixes and glittering talking birds are told as respite from the pain of losing their homelands to tyrants and war.
The exchange of tales between Nusaybah, Khawla, Sameer and Farzad—as well as the many people they encounter—reinforces the preciousness of identity when outside forces aim to strip it away. Expertly unfolding a realistic story of survival to create a gripping anthology, A Thousand Nights provides a beautiful tribute to the magic of storytelling and its ability to create bright stars of hope and community in even the darkest of midnight skies.