Zeina Sleiman is a Palestinian Canadian writer who lives in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). She is a Tin House workshop alum and is the recipient of grants from the Silk Road Institute, the Canada Council for the Arts, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Edmonton Arts Council. Her Short Story My Father’s Soil. was shortlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize in 2025.
Where the Jasmine Blooms is her debut novel.
Zeina holds a PhD in political science and works in post-secondary education where she has taught courses in politics, specialized in research on newcomer and citizenship related issues and works with businesses to create barrier free spaces. She’s also 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 husband and children, experimenting with new crochet patterns or exploring new worlds and people as she journey’s through her never-ending list of books.
