Fatima Shaik, M.A.
Adjunct Faculty of Communication (Retired, formerly Assistant Professor)
About Professor Shaik
A member of the Saint Peter’s faculty since 1991, Fatima Shaik designed the curriculum and directed the Communication program and major for its first decade. Before joining academia, she was a writer and editor by profession. She began her career as a daily reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and associate editor for several Louisiana statewide newspapers. She was assistant editor for McGraw-Hill World News and editor for its Foreign Digests. Her freelance articles have appeared in national publications including Essence, Black Enterprise, The New York Times, In These Times, and The Root. She directed the NYU/AEJ Summer Internships for Minorities program. She is the author of five books of fiction. Her first narrative non-fiction book will be published by the Historic New Orleans Collection in 2020.
“I believe in the development of the whole person and in teaching students the way to learn so that they can apply the techniques from my classes in everyday situations. I believe that knowledge increasingly requires a high level of idea synthesis and I try to model that approach to information and use that standard for assessment.”
“I believe in the development of the whole person and in teaching students the way to learn so that they can apply the techniques from my classes in everyday situations. I believe that knowledge increasingly requires a high level of idea synthesis and I try to model that approach to information and use that standard for assessment.”
Research Interests
Shaik’s current research interest is the multi-ethnic, black American community of the 19th century which existed in the United States and abroad.
Student Organizations and Clubs
Career & Accomplishments
Degrees
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•New York University, M.A.
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•Boston University, B.S.
Fellowships
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•The National Endowment of the Humanities
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•Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities
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•The Kittredge Fund
Presentations
- Louisiana Historical Association
- Tennessee Williams Festival
- Miami Book Fair
- Louisiana Book Fair
- PEN World Voices for International Literature Festival
- Brooklyn Book Festival
- Paris Lit Up
- National Council for Social Studies Conference
Additional Information
Fatima Shaik is a member of the Board of Trustees of PEN America, a literary human rights organization and co-chair of its Children’s and Young Adult Books Committee. She divides her time between her hometown of New Orleans and New York.
Favorable book reviews and acclaim:
WHAT WENT MISSING AND WHAT GOT FOUND
“Alternately laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving, all are brought vividly to life” -Women’s National Book Assn.
#1 Goodreads Great African American Short Story Collections since 2015
THE MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: JUST TALKING JAZZ, fiction
“Three lush and evocative novellas“ -Publishers Weekly
“More like a performance piece than conventional fiction…a terrific charging solo” -National Public Radio
MELITTE
“Accessible and affecting historical fiction“ -School Library Journal
“Full of period detail and vivid sensory writing“ -Kirkus
“Heart rending novel” -The Horn Book Best Books for Young Adults Nomination American Library Association 1998
American Booksellers Association Pick of the Lists 1997
ON MARDI GRAS DAY
Best Books of 1999, Holiday, Bank Street College of Education
“An especially appealing book that offers children vicarious enjoyment of this special day.” -School Library Journal
THE JAZZ OF OUR STREET
Parent’s Choice Recommended Title
“Shaik’s clever, agile celebration of New Orleans jazz is a compact cultural history” -Kirkus