Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
A crowd gathered at the Mariemont Branch on Saturday, Feb. 7 to celebrate the outgoing and incoming Writers-in-Residence.
Primarily a nonfiction children’s author, outgoing 2025 Writer-in-Residence Mary Kay Carson welcomed young adult author Intisar Khanani to the helm, where she’ll serve in the role throughout 2026.
As part of the ceremony, Carson read aloud writing she worked on during her residency. Like much of her work — Carson has authored over 50 nonfiction books for kids about wildlife, weather, nature, and history — the excerpt explored environmental themes, specifically the extinction crisis facing wildlife across the globe.
The excerpt opened with the image of two small turtles paddling in murky water as they swim near a Rhino. Once near the Rhino, they eat ticks off the mammal, making them a prime example of a symbiotic relationship.
“A rhino isn’t just part of the world,” Carson read aloud. “It is its own world: A mobile ecosystem that other animals and plants depend on. A rhino is an ecosystem we can stare in the eyes and connect with, one living being to another. You know that feeling, right? The shiver of connection felt when locking eyes with another living creature. It’s the satisfying thrill sought by birdwatchers, nature geeks, animal lovers, and wildlife fans.”
Introducing Intisar Khanani
After Carson’s reading, Khanani was welcomed to the podium. Having grown up as a nomad and world traveler, Khanani has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah, on the coast of the Red Sea. She is the author of The Sunbolt Chronicles and the Dauntless Pathnovels, beginning with Thorn. Her novels, A Darkness at the Door and Memories of Ash, were both Kirkus Review picks of Best Young Adult Fantasy Novels of the Year.
“Libraries have always been a haven for me growing up,” Khanani said at the event, explaining that they provided a welcoming space to find and connect with stories.
“They play such a vital role in our communities nowadays, too, bringing us stories about everyone and everything,” Khanani said. “They give us the chance to see humanity in each other, see the beauty of our own diversity of experience, of reality, and just every aspect of our lives and our world.”
That sentiment connects to what Khanani writes about: mighty girls in diverse worlds.
“When I talk about writing mighty girls, the other aspect of that is that I went to middle school in Saudi Arabia,” Khanani said, adding that about 70 different nationalities were represented. It’s also where she was first introduced to young adult fantasy like Robin McKinley. While these stories featured girls having adventures, they still were mainly backdropped by “vaguely medieval European settings.” She didn’t get to see the intersectionality of who she was on the page. By the time Khanani was in high school and college, she began thinking about what it actually takes to be a mighty girl.
Hint: Training montages, being an amazing sorceress, or kick-butt ninja skills need not apply.
“A lot of my work in writing stories has been about redefining what mighty means... The values I write about are things like radical compassion, empathy, kindness, and seeing each other’s humanity,” Khanani said.
Writer-in-Residence Events
Along with writing blogs and holding office hours, Khanani will host workshop events throughout the year, including:
- Building Diverse Worlds on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Deer Park Branch.
- Understanding and Overcoming Writer’s Block on Wednesday, May 13 at 6 p.m. at the Groesbeck Branch.
- Writing Mighty Girls & the Heroine’s Journey on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Cheviot Branch.
- Tools for Intuitive Writing on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Symmes Branch.
You can also listen to Khanani explore various writing-related topics on “Inside the Writer’s Head,” our official Writer-in-Residence podcast. Office hours will be hosted at the following locations on select dates:
- Wednesday, April 8 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Monfort Heights Branch
- Wednesday, May 6 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Corryville Branch
- Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Wyoming Branch
- Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the West End Branch
Learn more about Khanani, related events, and more at chpl.org/writer. The Library is proud to welcome Khanani as your 2026 Writer-in-Residence. Stay tuned for more updates!
Charitable donations support the Writer-in-Residence program, including the generous contributions of Naomi Tucker Gerwin and The Library Foundation.
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