Events › Office Hours: Writer-in-Residence

Need help workshopping your writing? Connect with Intisar Khanani, the Library's 2026 Writer-in-Residence, for an office hours session. Bring questions about how to best put your ideas on the page or how to address that challenge you've encountered in your current project. Intisar's expertise is in young adult fantasy, but she welcomes writers of all genres.

About Intisar Khanani

Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. She has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah, on the coast of the Red Sea. Previously, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health and infant mortality with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy.

Intisar is the author of The Sunbolt Chronicles, and the Dauntless Path novels, beginning with Thorn. Her novels, A Darkness at the Door and Memories of Ash were both Kirkus Review picks for Best Young Adult Fantasy Novels of the Year. She is deeply honored to serve as the 2026 Writer in Residence for the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library.