# Saara El-Arifi
**Saara El-Arifi** is a British author of fantasy and historical fiction, a No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling writer of Sudanese and Ghanaian heritage known for *The Ending Fire* trilogy and the *Faebound* trilogy.[1](https://saaraelarifi.com/) • [2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) Her novels draw on West African and Arabian mythology, folklore, and history, and in 2026 she published her first historical novel, *Cleopatra*.[3](https://theobdb.com/authors/a_fCzvv_bWrn/saara-el-arifi)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Nationality and heritage | British, of Sudanese and Ghanaian descent; raised in Abu Dhabi before her family moved to England[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) • [4](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/) |
| Education | 1st BA Hons in Theatre Studies, University of Kent; Diploma in Directing, RADA; MA in African Studies, SOAS, specializing in Cleopatra's myth and its impact on Black women[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) • [1](https://saaraelarifi.com/) • [4](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/) |
| Debut | *The Final Strife* (2022), sold to Del Rey in the US and HarperVoyager in the UK in six-figure deals[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) |
| Bestseller | *Faebound* (2024) reached No. 1 in the Sunday Times fiction chart[4](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/) |
| Award | 2025 British Book Award, Pageturner of the Year, for *Faebound*[5](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/saara-el-arifi/) |
| Bibliography | Seven novels: two trilogies plus the standalone *Cleopatra* (2026)[6](https://www.fictiondb.com/author/saara-el-arifi~786376.htm) |
## Life and education
El-Arifi was raised by a Ghanaian/British mother and a Sudanese/Arab father, one brought up Christian and the other Muslim, and spent her early years in [Abu Dhabi](https://www.edgepedia.org/abu-dhabi). When she was reaching her formative years the family moved from the Middle East to a village outside [Sheffield](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheffield), Yorkshire, a change she has described as teaching her what it was to be Black in a white world.[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) She has lived in several countries and is now based in London.[3](https://theobdb.com/authors/a_fCzvv_bWrn/saara-el-arifi)
Her first training was in theater: a first-class BA Hons in Theatre Studies from Kent University and a Diploma in Directing from RADA. Her creative writing and theater background led her into film marketing and communications, where she worked for nearly a decade.[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) She then returned to academia to complete a master's degree in African studies at SOAS, University of London, specializing in the myth of [Cleopatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleopatra) and its impact on Black women, alongside her writing career.[1](https://saaraelarifi.com/) • [4](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/) She describes herself as knowing she was a storyteller "from the moment she told her first lie," and now lives in London as a full-time writer.[1](https://saaraelarifi.com/)
## The Ending Fire trilogy
El-Arifi's debut novel, *The Final Strife*, was published in 2022 and launched *The Ending Fire* trilogy, followed by *The Battle Drum* (2023) and *The Ending Fire* (2024).[6](https://www.fictiondb.com/author/saara-el-arifi~786376.htm) The trilogy is set in an empire that rules by blood: red-blooded Embers command, blue-blooded Dusters work, and transparent-blooded Ghostings serve.[7](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/saara-el-arifi/the-final-strife/) Three women from different blood classes unite to bring down the empire.[8](https://saaraelarifi.com/books)
*Kirkus Reviews* described the debut as a blunt allegory drawing on Ghanaian and Arabian tales, crafted into a compelling story with sympathetic characters, and noted the possibilities the blood-color premise creates for "passing."[7](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/saara-el-arifi/the-final-strife/) The sequel *The Battle Drum* follows Anoor, the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens' Empire, accused of a murder she did not commit, alongside Sylah and Hassa as their searches uncover the atrocities of the empire's past and present.[9](https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780593356999)
## The Faebound trilogy
In 2024 El-Arifi began a second sequence with *Faebound*, the first in a romantasy trilogy that reached No. 1 in the Sunday Times fiction chart.[4](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/) The story follows two elven sisters, Yeeran and Lettle, who are exiled into the wilderness and thrust into the world of the long-lost fae court.[8](https://saaraelarifi.com/books) The sequel *Cursebound* appeared in 2025, and the concluding volume *Earthbound* is scheduled for August 2026.[6](https://www.fictiondb.com/author/saara-el-arifi~786376.htm)
*Faebound* won the Pageturner of the Year award at the 2025 British Book Awards.[5](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/saara-el-arifi/) It was also nominated for the Goodreads Awards Best Romantasy in 2024 and longlisted for the 2023 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award was earned by *The Final Strife*.[5](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/saara-el-arifi/)
## Cleopatra
*Cleopatra*, published on February 24, 2026 by Ballantine Books in the US (352 pages), is El-Arifi's first historical novel.[10](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/764165/cleopatra-by-saara-el-arifi/) It is told in first person, styled as a memoir in which Cleopatra speaks from beyond death, opening with the declaration "This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived."[11](https://www.arabnews.com/books-gaming/book-review-a-queen-reclaims-her-voice-in-saara-el-arifis-historical-epic-cleopatra-2651571) The novel sets out to reclaim the Egyptian monarch's voice from the Roman chronicles and later mythologizing that have shaped her legacy, portraying her as a healer, a would-be scholar, and a fiercely loving mother whose documented loves, [Julius Caesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/julius-caesar) and Marcus Antonius, appear alongside her companion Charmion and her siblings.[11](https://www.arabnews.com/books-gaming/book-review-a-queen-reclaims-her-voice-in-saara-el-arifis-historical-epic-cleopatra-2651571) • [12](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/saara-el-arifi/cleopatra-4/) El-Arifi has said in a Guardian interview that the book began as historical fiction but quickly turned into a memoir because of a lack of illuminating historical sources.[13](https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2026/03/04/the-infinite-variety-of-saara-el-arifis-cleopatra-2026/) The audiobook, released March 3, 2026, is read by [Adjoa Andoh](https://www.edgepedia.org/adjoa-andoh).[10](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/764165/cleopatra-by-saara-el-arifi/)
## Themes and influences
El-Arifi's novels combine imagined societies with stories of power, resistance, identity, and womanhood, drawing on West African and Arabian mythology, folklore, and history.[3](https://theobdb.com/authors/a_fCzvv_bWrn/saara-el-arifi) Her academic work on Cleopatra's myth informs both her historical fiction and her approach to fantasy, particularly her engagement with African and Arab cultural traditions.[3](https://theobdb.com/authors/a_fCzvv_bWrn/saara-el-arifi) In a 2022 interview she described her approach to *The Final Strife* as subverting classic European fantasy, and named N.K. Jemisin, [Robin Hobb](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-hobb), and Samantha Shannon among the influences that shaped her writing.[2](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/) Her work also features diverse representation, including sapphic romance and found family, and *The Final Strife* incorporates sign language.[14](https://sobrief.com/authors/saara-el-arifi)
## References
1. [Saara El-Arifi, official website](https://saaraelarifi.com/)
2. [Interview with Saara El-Arifi (The Final Strife), Fantasy-Hive, July 19, 2022](https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2022/07/interview-with-saara-el-arifi-the-final-strife/)
3. [Saara El-Arifi, The Open Book Database](https://theobdb.com/authors/a_fCzvv_bWrn/saara-el-arifi)
4. [Saara El-Arifi author page, School Reading List](https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/saara-el-arifi/)
5. [Saara El-Arifi, Fantastic Fiction](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/e/saara-el-arifi/)
6. [Saara El-Arifi Books in Order, FictionDB](https://www.fictiondb.com/author/saara-el-arifi~786376.htm)
7. [The Final Strife, Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2022 issue](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/saara-el-arifi/the-final-strife/)
8. [Books, Saara El-Arifi official website](https://saaraelarifi.com/books)
9. [The Battle Drum, Penguin Random House Higher Education](https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780593356999)
10. [Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/764165/cleopatra-by-saara-el-arifi/)
11. [Book review: A queen reclaims her voice in Saara El-Arifi's historical epic 'Cleopatra', Arab News, July 20, 2026](https://www.arabnews.com/books-gaming/book-review-a-queen-reclaims-her-voice-in-saara-el-arifis-historical-epic-cleopatra-2651571)
12. [Cleopatra, Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2026 issue](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/saara-el-arifi/cleopatra-4/)
13. [The "infinite variety" of Saara El-Arifi's Cleopatra (2026), The Oxford Student, March 4, 2026](https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2026/03/04/the-infinite-variety-of-saara-el-arifis-cleopatra-2026/)
14. [Saara El-Arifi, SoBrief](https://sobrief.com/authors/saara-el-arifi)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Fiction writers: novelists and genre › Science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers › Fantasy writers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license