Kanza Javed

Kanza Javed was born in Lahore, Pakistan.[1]

Javed received her MPhil in English Language and Literature from Kinnaird College for Women University. She later attended West Virginia University to attain her M.F.A. in Fiction. She was a short-term fellow at University of Massachusetts and a research scholar at Arizona State University; both grants were funded by the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan.[2]

Javed published her debut book, Ashes, Wine and Dust, in 2015.[3][1][4] The novel was shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize. Javed started writing the book when she was 17, and was 21 when the manuscript was shortlisted for the award. She is the first Pakistani and, as of 2020, the youngest person to be nominated.[5][6][7][8] She had intended to release her book at the Indian Kumaon Literary festival, but was temporarily denied a visa, and released it via Skype in cooperation with the festival instead.[8][9][10]

Her short story, It Will Follow You Home, was published in American Literary Review (2020).[11] Her short story, Carry It All was published in The Punch Magazine (2020).[12] Her short story, Rani, won the 2020 International Literary Awards (The Reynolds Price Prize for Short Fiction) and was a finalist at Salamander Fiction Contest 2020.[13]