In November 2025, Uzma Jalaluddin received an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University during Fall Convocation. She was recognized for her impactful work as an author, known for crafting heartfelt and nuanced stories centred on South Asian and Muslim communities. With acclaimed novels such as Ayesha at Last, Hana Khan Carries On, and Much Ado About Nada, Jalaluddin’s work continues to resonate with readers and expand representation in contemporary fiction.
Honorary degree recipients:
Uzma Jalaluddin, Ceremony 1, Nov. 3, 2025, 10 am
Uzma Jalaluddin is an author who writes heartfelt and nuanced stories about first-and-second-generation South Asian and Muslim immigrants. She is the author of Detective Aunty (2025), featuring Kausar Khan, a South Asian Miss Marple, as well as Much Ado About Nada (2023), which The New York Times described as, “in a word, brilliant.” Her novel Three Holidays and a Wedding (2023) was co-written with Marissa Stapley and was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick. Her debut novel, Ayesha at Last (2019), was a Cosmopolitan UK Book of the Year and Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2019. Her second novel, Hana Khan Carries On (2021) was named a 2021 Best Romance Novel by The Washington Post. Her first play, The Rishta was performed at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Jalaluddin is a high school teacher and has contributed to the Toronto Star and The Atlantic.