Author Aisha Saeed – who received 29 rejections before a publisher picked up her first novel, "Written in the Stars" – encouraged students at Albany International Center (AIC) to always try, no matter what the odds.
Saeed visited AIC and Albany High School on Wednesday, thanks to a grant from the Albany Fund For Education.
The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, Saeed grew up in Florida. She always loved to read books, but noticed early on that few featured characters who looked like her. She went on to be a teacher, a lawyer and a mother before becoming a full-time writer, at which time she also became a founding member of We Need Diverse Books.
Despite the publishing industry’s predictions that no one would buy it, another of her books, “Amal Unbound,” spent six weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and earned numerous literary honors.
Learn more about Saeed and her other award-winning books on her website, http://aishasaeed.com/books/.
