Meet Khadijah Vanbrakle

We were lucky to catch up with Khadijah Vanbrakle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Khadijah, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

While I was in the midst of sending out query letters, a very uncomfortable situation occurred. When another author found out that I was looking for representation, he told me, “It should be easy for YOU to find a literary agent since you’re both Black and Muslim”. I was shocked into silence. Did he think that marginalized authors only signed with literary agents and got book deals because they were marginalized? Not because of the quality of their writing?

Traditional publishing is a very subjective business.

Unfortunately, haters doesn’t disappear once you have a book out in the world. As a contemporary, YA author who writes coming-of-age novels about more serious themes, I don’t read reviews anymore. Before my 2023 debut, Fatima Tate Takes the Cake, some individuals in my own faith community one-starred my book because of the subject matter within it. The themes in my books are universal and have long been ignored and/or kept hidden in American Muslim communities.

I believe all young people deserve to see themselves within the pages of a book. I’m forever grateful to have found a kick-ass literary agent, editor and publishing house who all support the stories I want to tell. The amazing support and positivity I’ve received from fellow authors, young people, educators and readers, fuels my desire to continue writing.

Ignoring the negativity is just part of the job.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I write Contemporary, Young Adult fiction that gives my Black American Muslim teen protagonists impossible choices. This is my YA brand so far, which may or may not expand in the future.

I’m super excited to connect with readers, especially young people, to serve as an example of how they can tell their own stories. I’ve always loved to read but never saw myself writing books. I didn’t major in Creative Writing or Literature in college. Learning the craft of writing and studying the traditional publishing industry are the main things I did to start on this journey.

My second, Contemporary Young Adult novel, MY PERFECT FAMILY, releases July 29th, 2025. It was inspired by my love of the fraught mother/daughter relationships in the Gilmore Girls but within a fractured, Black American Muslim family.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The three things that were most impactful in my journey:

Finding my author community: to be able to learn with and from others who are on the same path is invaluable

Learning the craft: taking classes, joining writing groups and reading craft books, in any combination, can give you the courage to start writing

Read in the genre you want to write: go to a local bookstore or your local library to find titles within your desired genre, no more than five years old, to familiarize yourself with what’s being published

My main piece of advice to folks who are early in their journey is to start. It may seem daunting to write an entire book but be easy on yourself and take it one day at a time. It’s impossible to edit a blank page.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

When I overwhelmed by writing, I take a break and focus on something else. I have a full-time job and a family, so there’s always another task that pulls at me.

When I return to my challenging writing task, I break it into manageable chunks and concentrate on thing at a time. Using a monthly planner, I check off daily tasks to remind myself of even the smallest accomplishment.

Sometimes, I reach out to another writer and share my frustration with someone who understands my situation. It helps me to be reminded that most people who writes books at times struggle with being overwhelmed.

I have an index card on my desk that reads, “Why does this story mean so much to me?” It’s my ever-present reminder to myself to remember why I write books in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.khadijahvanbrakle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khadijahvanbrakle/

Image Credits

For my author photo, the credit should go to: Khadija Chudnoff