Hi! I’m Khadijah and my debut, Contemporary young adult novel, Fatima Tate Takes The Cake, was released in June 2023 by Holiday House. The main character, Fatima, is a seventeen-year-old high school senior who wants to become a pastry chef after graduation. When Fatima’s parents arrange a marriage to her secret crush, her dream is threatened. She must develop then summon enough inner strength to fight for her future, without losing everything in the process.

This coming-of-age story addresses familiar themes: navigating parental as well as community expectations and taking the chance to go after your dreams. It also contains the underlying theme of dealing with the privilege of wealth. The baking competition within this story will feed your sweet tooth in the best way—without a single calorie.

Since FATIMA TATE is set in Albuquerque, it’s extra special to me that it’s received first place in the 2024 National Federation of Press Women’s Communications contest for Young Adult fiction. The inclusion of my debut novel in the national contest was a result of it winning the NM Press Women’s contest in its genre. Thank you to all the judges and readers who have positively supported my story. 
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I hope its continued success encourages others, especially NM teens, to tell their own stories.

Khadijah VanBrakle, author

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From the Santa Fe Reporter: 

​I am thrilled that The Santa Fe Reporter readers picked The Way of the Bear as the best book by a Santa Fe author. I love that book, too!

Santa Fe has long been a nurturing place for writers, and has become even more so in the decades in which I’ve lived here. The creative writing programs at the Institute of American Indian Arts, the classes in poetry, fiction and more at Santa Fe Community College, the encouragement and support high school writers receive at the New Mexico School for the Arts, the stimulation provided by the Santa Fe International Literary Festival and the camaraderie offered by NMWriters.org and the long-established New Mexico Book Association—what a wealth of acknowledgement that stories matter! On top of that, our wonderful bookstores and public libraries give writers and readers more encouragement.

I am enormously grateful to have my book acknowledged and even happier to be part of such a supportive and generous community.

Anne Hillerman Santa Fe