Shafaq Khan is an aspiring middle grade author, lawyer, and mom. Born to Pakistani parents, Shafaq grew up in a small port city along the Persian Gulf called Jubail Industrial City; a city that barely makes it on most maps but would shape her worldview and forever cement her identity as a third culture kid. It is in Jubail that Shafaq discovered the world of books at her school’s magical library.

Shafaq attended college in NYC, majoring in Political Science and Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures, before heading to law school. After law school, Shafaq worked for nearly a decade as a legal services attorney representing low-income people with disabilities facing housing and benefits issues. In this role, Shafaq became acquainted with people’s stories — the ones we tell and the ones we don’t—and to listen to the story beneath the surface.

Shafaq works at Stanford Law School and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and children.