Saara El-Arifi
British author
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saara El-Arifi is a British fantasy author. Her debut novel, The Final Strife, was published in 2022 by Del Rey Books in the United States and HarperVoyager in the United Kingdom.[1] It is the first in the Ending Fire trilogy, which draws inspiration from West African and Arabian mythology, and was selected as one of Amazon's best books of 2022.[2]
- University of Kent (BA)
- SOAS University of London (MA)
Saara El-Arifi | |
|---|---|
El-Arifi at the British Library in 2023 | |
| Born | Abu Dhabi, UAE |
| Education |
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| Years active | 2022–present |
| Website | www |
Life and career
El-Arifi was raised in Abu Dhabi before relocating to Sheffield with her family.[3] She is of Sudanese and Ghanaian descent. Her father was Muslim and her mother was raised Christian.[4]
Her career as an author began in 2022 with the publication of The Final Strife, represented by Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.[5] Faebound, the first in a new romantasy trilogy,[6][7] was published in 2024 and became an instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller.[8] The novel was also longlisted for the TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2024.[9] In 2023, rights to El-Arifi's next two projects, Cleopatra and The Queen of Sheba, were acquired by the Borough Press.[10]
Cleopatra was published in February 2026 by Harper Collins and tells the story of Cleopatra VII, opening at the moment she discovers she is Pharaoh of Egypt.[11]
El-Arifi holds a BA (Hons) in Theatre Studies from the University of Kent[12] and an MA in African Studies from the SOAS University of London.[13]
Bibliography
The Ending Fire Trilogy
Source:[14]
- The Final Strife (2022)
- The Battle Drum (2023)
- The Ending Fire (2024)
The Faebound Trilogy
Standalone
- Cleopatra (2026)[17]