Amal El-Mohtar

Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984^[1]) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction,^[2] best known for the 2019 novella This Is How You Lose the Time War. She is the editor of Goblin Fruit and reviews science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review.

Amal El-Mohtar
El-Mohtar in 2017
Born	(1984-12-13) 13 December 1984 (age 40) Ottawa, Canada
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Nationality	Canadian
Genre	Science fiction, fantasy
Notable work	This Is How You Lose the Time War
Notable awards	Hugo Award for Best Short Story (2017) Hugo Award for Best Novella (2020) Nebula Award for Best Short Story (2017) Nebula Award for Best Novella (2020) Locus Award for Best Short Story (2015, 2017) Locus Award for Best Novella (2020)

Writing career

She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine Goblin Fruit since 2006.^[3]

El-Mohtar began reviewing science fiction and fantasy books for the New York Times Book Review in February 2018.^[4] She has worked as a creative writing instructor at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.^[5] In 2018, she also served as a host on Brandon Sanderson's creative writing podcast Writing Excuses for Season 13.^[6]

Her 2019 novella This Is How You Lose the Time War, co-written with Max Gladstone, won the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novella,^[7][8] the 2020 Locus Award for Best Novella, the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novella,^[9] and several other awards. In 2025, her first solo novella, The River Has Roots, was published.

Awards and honors

Selected awards:

Award[a]	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Aurora Award	Short fiction	This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)[b]	Won	[10]
BSFA Award	Shorter fiction	This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)[b]	Won	[11]
Hugo Award	Novella	This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)[b]	Won	[12]
	Short story	Seasons of Glass and Iron (2016)	Won	[13][5]
Locus Award	Novella	This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)[b]	Won	[12]
	Short story	The Truth About Owls (2014)	Won	[14]
		Madeleine (2015)	Nominated	[12]
		Seasons of Glass and Iron (2016)	Won	[15]
Nebula Award	Novella	This Is How You Lose the Time War (2019)[b]	Won	[16][17]
	Short story	The Green Book (2010)	Nominated	[18]
		"Madeleine" (2015)	Nominated	[19]
		Seasons of Glass and Iron (2016)	Won	[20]
Rhysling Award	Best Long Poem	Damascus Divides the Lovers by Zero; or, The City Is Never Finished (with Catherynne M. Valente) (2009)	Third place	[21]
	Best Short Poem	Songs to an Ancient City (2009)	Won	[21]
		Peach-Creamed Honey (2011)	Won	[22]
		Turning the Leaves (2014)	Won	[23]
World Fantasy Award	Short fiction	Pockets (2015)	Nominated	[24]
		Seasons of Glass and Iron (2016)	Nominated	[25]

This Is How You Lose the Time War was also a finalist for the 2019 Shirley Jackson Award in the Novella category,^[26] a finalist for the inaugural Ray Bradbury Award for Science Fiction, Fantasy & Speculative Fiction at the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes,^[27] and a finalist for the 2019 Kitschies in the Novel category.^[28] It also achieved second place in the 2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.^[29] El-Mohtar announced in 2019 that the book has been optioned for television, with scripts to be written by herself and Gladstone.^[30]

Amal El-Mohtar, winner of the Best Short Story Hugo, at the Hugo Award Ceremony 2017 at Worldcon in Helsinki

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.^[1][31]

She is married^[32] and lives in Ottawa.^[33] She is bisexual.^[34]

Selected works

El-Mohtar's full bibliography includes an extensive list of short stories, poems, essays, and reviews.^[35]

• The Honey Month, collected short fiction, Papaveria Press 2010; ISBN 978-1907881008
• This Is How You Lose the Time War (with Max Gladstone), novella, 2019; ISBN 9781534431003
• The River Has Roots, novella, 2025; ISBN 9781250341082

Notes

1. Awards are listed in alphabetical order.
2. With her co-author Max Gladstone.