Saladin Ahmed was born in Detroit. His 2012 fantasy novel, Throne of the Crescent Moon, received starred reviews from  Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal, was nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. His essays have appeared in the  New York Times, the Boston Globe, BuzzFeed, and Salon. He is currently writing Black Bolt for Marvel Comics and Abbott for Boom! Studios.