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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.

Whenever she’s writing a novel, Uzma Jalaluddin makes a playlist. For her latest, a holiday romance titled “Yours For The Season,” a certain track from Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” album was on rotation — and it shows.

“I listened to “‘Tis The Damn Season” a lot. I am a Swiftie, and I love that song,” said Jalaluddin, reached via video call, surrounded by boxes ahead of a pending house move from one Markham neighbourhood to another. “And, you know, ’tis the damn season!”

In hindsight, Jalaluddin can see that Swift’s melancholy track about returning to your hometown over the holidays and confronting the ghosts of old loves and your own past self may have seeped into what she was writing.

“Yours For The Season” is considerably less depressing, although just as emotionally weighty: It’s the story of a burnt-out lawyer and an aspiring food influencer who are brought together by a mutually beneficial fake-dating arrangement and bond over their complicated family relationships.

The New York Times book review for MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA:

CONTINUING THE THEME of rebellion:

Contemporary Austen adaptations are exercises in seeing how far a tradition can be stretched without snapping. That’s a natural fit for a Muslim romance author writing about characters of faith; Uzma Jalaluddin’s debut, “Ayesha at Last,” was one of the most refreshing “Pride and Prejudice” takes in decades. For her new novel, MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA, she takes up my favourite of Austen’s books, “Persuasion.” And, honestly, knocks it clean out of the park.

“Good Morning America” has selected “Three Holidays and a Wedding” by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marisa Stapley as their latest Buzz Pick. This novel is being highlighted as a festive read for the holiday season.

Canada Reads is back! This year, the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to shift your perspective.

The stories we tell, and the way we tell them, can shape how we see ourselves, our communities and the world. This collection of books is an opportunity to broaden our horizons, expand our worldview and think differently about the world around us and our place in it.