Tahereh Mafi

Frequently asked questions

• How does Tahereh Mafi's Iranian-American background shape her books?

  Mafi is the daughter of Iranian immigrants and was the youngest of five children, with four older brothers. Her contemporary novel A Very Large Expanse of Sea draws on her own experience as a Muslim teenager in America, and her fantasy series This Woven Kingdom is inspired by Persian mythology. Her heritage informs both her own-voices contemporary fiction and her fantasy world-building.

• Why is the text in Shatter Me crossed out with strikethroughs?

  The strikethrough text visually represents the chaotic, intrusive thoughts of narrator Juliette, who has been isolated and struggles to separate what she thinks from what she says. As Juliette grows stronger over the course of the series, the strikethroughs lessen and her clearer voice takes over. The technique pairs with a fragmented, stream-of-consciousness style.

• Is Tahereh Mafi married to a fellow author?

  Yes. Mafi married author Ransom Riggs in 2013, after the two met at a writers' retreat. Riggs wrote the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series. They live in Southern California with their daughter.

• What genres has Tahereh Mafi written across her catalog?

  Her work spans dystopian science fiction in the Shatter Me series, middle-grade fantasy in Furthermore and Whichwood, contemporary realistic fiction in A Very Large Expanse of Sea and An Emotion of Great Delight, and high fantasy in the This Woven Kingdom series. She has moved between these modes rather than staying in one.

• Has Tahereh Mafi been nominated for any major literary awards?

  A Very Large Expanse of Sea was longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. Mafi describes herself as a National Book Award-nominated author. Several of her other titles have also received Goodreads Choice Award nominations.

• Did Tahereh Mafi take creative writing classes before publishing Shatter Me?

  No. Mafi has said she never took a creative writing class and wrote several practice manuscripts to teach herself how to build a novel before Shatter Me. Her main advice to aspiring writers is to read widely and read everything.

• Where can I find Tahereh Mafi's official website and social media?

  Her official website is taherehmafi.com, which links to her Instagram. She is also active on X (Twitter) at @TaherehMafi and maintains a Goodreads author profile.

• What order should I read Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me series in?

  The core trilogy runs Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me, followed by the second arc of Restore Me, Defy Me, and Imagine Me. Several companion novellas (such as Destroy Me and Fracture Me) sit between the main books. The This Woven Kingdom series is separate and unrelated.