About Hena

Hena Khan is an award-winning author of picture books and middle grade fiction. Her groundbreaking middle grade novel Amina’s Voice was named a Best Book of 2017 by the Washington Post, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and others. The sequel, Amina’s Song, won the 2022 Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature. More to the Story, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century, was inspired by Hena’s all-time favorite book, Little Women. Hena also wrote the Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream and Zara’s Rules series and her acclaimed picture books include Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns, Under My Hijab, and Like the Moon Loves the Sky, among others.

As a child, Hena spent countless hours at the public library but never saw her life as a Pakistani American Muslim reflected on the pages of a book. It didn’t occur to her that someone like her deserved to be a character in a story. After completing her MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University, Hena worked with non-profit health organizations as a writer and editor.

Hena began writing for kids with Scholastic book clubs over twenty years ago, publishing books for popular series including Spy University. She also wrote adventure-filled pick-your-path books and was thrilled to revisit the genre with her Super You! series.

Hena has enjoyed co-authoring books with friends, including Adam Gidwitz for the Unicorn Rescue Society, Sarah Mylnowksi for Best Wishes and Andrea Menotti for Super You! and believes that two creative minds are better than one.

Hena divides her time between writing and presenting to children, educators, and others, and has served on the board of We Need Diverse Books. Hena lives in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland with her family but enjoys traveling—and she hopes to add to the 35 countries she has visited so far. Her favorite things are getting letters from kids, perfect cappuccinos, and reading in bed.