AUTHOR PHOTO

Haneen Oriqat is a Muslim Palestinian-American writer, editor, photographer, and activist. As a child of diaspora, her love for travel, the moon, and the ocean are infused into her stories for teens and adults in search of home. Along with her writing aspirations, she is dedicated to fostering a career in the publishing industry with the commitment of supporting diverse voices by increasing the visibility of writers of color who have been marginalized. Haneen is currently the Managing Editor of Children’s for Sourcebooks Kids. She is also an organizer for Books for Palestine, which began as a fundraising initiative within the literary community for emergency relief efforts and now serves as a space for education, awareness, and advocacy on Palestine with a focus on books.

Previously, she was the Operations Coordinator for Electric Postcard Entertainment, an IP story development entertainment company dedicated to bold and diverse storytelling across publishing, books, audio, podcasts, and film/TV for all ages. Haneen has worked at the agency level and held various positions in education and the arts, including being hired as a consultant to write and edit a comic book project for a California nonprofit youth organization, The AjA Project.

Haneen received her MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Fiction and Writing for Young People from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She is an alumna of the University of California, San Diego, where she received a BA in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and a minor in Literature/Writing while taking extensive courses in Photography. She is the editor and one of the contributors of Watermelon Seeds (Kokila, 2027)–a middle grade contemporary novel-in-stories woven together like tatreez embroidery, amplifying Palestinian voices and illustrating the experiences of children in diaspora. Her short story, Keepers of the Olive Trees, was published in A Thousand Nights anthology (Candlewick, 2026)–a young adult fantasy retelling of Arabian Nights. She authored the graphic novel How Did We Get Here? City Heights (Urban Habitat, 2023). Her work has been featured in a variety of publications, including The Manifest-Station, Everyday Feminism, Angels Flight ∙ literary west, This is Worldtown, and BuzzFeed Books. She was also selected as a finalist for Voyage YA Journal’s First Chapters Contest for Women Writers. Haneen is a fellow of Boyds Mills’, formally known as Highlights Foundation, first Muslim Storytellers Fellowship and VONA/Voices for writers of color.

Haneen was born and raised on Kumeyaay land now known as San Diego, California and currently resides on Lenapehoking land now known as New York City. Despite her sarcasm and unhealthy amount of coffee often getting her in trouble, she is always working on a few manuscripts. You can find her at haneenoriqat.com or on social media @haneenoriqatwrites and @haneenbintfalasteen.

Haneen Oriqat is a Muslim Palestinian writer, photographer, and activist. As a child of diaspora, her love for travel, the moon, and the ocean are infused into her stories for teens and adults in search of home. She is the editor and one of the contributors of Watermelon Seeds (Kokila, 2027)–a middle grade contemporary novel-in-stories woven together like tatreez embroidery, amplifying Palestinian voices and illustrating the experiences of children in diaspora. Her short story, Keepers of the Olive Trees, was published in A Thousand Nights anthology (Candlewick, 2026)–a young adult fantasy retelling of Arabian Nights. She authored a graphic novel for a California nonprofit youth organization, and her work has been featured in a variety of publications. Haneen is a fellow of Boyds Mills’ first Muslim Storytellers Fellowship. She currently works in the publishing industry and is dedicated to supporting diverse voices by increasing the visibility of writers of color who have been marginalized. Haneen is also an organizer for Books for Palestine, serving as a space for education, awareness, and advocacy on Palestine with a focus on books within the literary community. Born and raised on Kumeyaay land now known as San Diego, California, she currently resides in New York City. Despite her sarcasm and an unhealthy amount of coffee that often gets her in trouble, she is always working on a few manuscripts. You can find her at haneenoriqat.com or on social media @haneenoriqatwrites and @haneenbintfalasteen.