Uzma Jalaluddin, a high school English teacher in Canada, has earned acclaim as a newspaper columnist, television guest, and author of romance novels. Photo Credit: Uzma Jalaluddin
Many exceptional educators have achieved success in fields outside of the classroom. This is true of Uzma Jalaluddin, a high school English teacher who has earned acclaim as a newspaper columnist, novelist, and television guest.
Uzma was born in 1980. Her parents immigrated to Canada from Hyderabad, India. She was raised in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, a place that she describes as “one of the most ethnically diverse places on the planet. After earning her degree in English literature from the University of Toronto, she became a high school English teacher at a public school in Toronto, a job she has held since 2003.
Uzma writes regular column about modern Musllim life for Canada’s Toronto Star. The column is entitled Samosas and Maple Syrup. She’s also been a guest on the television show Cityline, speaking on topics related to the Muslim experience. Her debut novel, Ayesha at Last, was published in 2019. The volume has been described as a modern retelling of the Jane Austin novel Pride and Prejudice with a setting in the Muslim community. The effort earned instant acclaim, and was even named the Cosmopolitan UK Book of the Year and a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2019. In addition, this book was long-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal and the Toronto Book Awards and was short-listed as a Goodreads Reader’s Choice Awards finalist. Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On, was published in 2021. This book has been described as having been inspired by the blockbuster hit movie You’ve Got Mail, again with a setting in the Muslim community, and was named Best Romance Novel 2021 by the Washington Post.
Uzma credits her upbringing with her success as an author, and she never forgets the value of telling stories. “I grew up surrounded by storytellers; my favorite stories were the ones my mother and my aunts told me, about the strong women they knew in India,” Uzma says. “Like the wealthy widow who used her resources to educate neighborhood women in her own home. Or the female servant who never kept quiet when she witnessed bad behavior,” she continues. “I learned about the power of stories to combat the limiting narratives that are so often used to harm, diminish, and control others. Today I tell stories in my job as a teacher, columnist, and novelist. I do it not just to keep the old tales alive and for the pleasure of making up new stories, but also to remind myself, my children, my readers, who they are and where they come from, and how the stories we listen to influence our lives,” she concludes.
To learn more about this talented teacher and author, click on this link to her website: Uzma Jalaluddin.
