Zeina Sleiman

Zeina Sleiman is a writer and scholar based out of amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). Her story My Father’s Soil was a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize and in 2025 she was named among 22 Canadian writers to watch by CBC Books. Her writing has been supported by grants from the Silk Road Institute, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Edmonton Arts Council.

Where the Jasmine Blooms is a finalist for the Forest of Reading Evergreen Award, was a bookclub pick for All in A Day with CBC’s Alan Neal and All Lit Up. Her second novel The Arabic Word for Mercy is scheduled for release in spring 2027.

Zeina has a PhD in political science and leads a small research and consulting institute at a college in Alberta. Her research specializes in newcomer and citizenship related issues as well as the impact of municipal politics on settlement and social outcomes for immigrants. She’s the author of an academic book Sanctuary Regions and the Struggle for Belonging, which documents how stateless and undocumented people make claims for human rights.

When she’s not working or writing, she likes to spend time with her family, experimenting with new crochet patterns or exploring new worlds and people as she journey’s through her never-ending list of books.

Photo credit: Faisa Omer