Daniel Nayeri
Daniel Nayeri is an Iranian-American author whose works have earned the National Book Award and Newbery Honors.
Biography
Nayeri was born in Iran and fled the country with his sister Dina, and their mother, a doctor, after a fatwa had been issued against her. They lived for three years in refugee camps in Dubai and Rome before settling in 1990—when Nayeri was eight years old—in Edmond, Oklahoma. Nayeri attended Edmond Memorial High School, and New York University, where he studied writing.Nayeri was publisher of Odd Dot, a children's publishing group at Macmillan Publishers, before leaving in 2020 to pursue full-time writing.
Nayeri lives with his wife and son in New Jersey.
Works
Nayeri's printed works include:Another Faust, 2009Another Pan, 2010Straw House, Wood House, Brick House, Blow, 2011Another Jekyll, Another Hyde, 2013How To Tell A Story, 2015The Most Dangerous Book : An Illustrated Introduction To Archery, 2017Sasha And Puck And The Cure For Courage, 2019Sasha And Puck And The Cordial Cordial, 2019Everything Sad Is Untrue, 2020Sasha And Puck And The Brew For Brainwash, 2020Sasha And Puck And The Potion Of Luck, 2021Mirror Town, 2023The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, 2023The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story, 2025Awards
In 2020, Everything Sad Is Untrue received a Michael L. Printz Award for best book written for teens, and was one of two honorees in the younger readers category for a Walter Dean Myers Award. In 2021, the book received a Christopher Award in the young adult category, and was a finalist for an Audie Award for Young Adult Title. In 2023, the book was nominated for a Young Reader's Choice Award.Everything Sad Is Untrue was listed as one of the best children's books of 2020 by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today, and Booklist Editors' Choice.
In 2024, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams was selected as a Newbery Honor book.
In 2025, The Teacher of Nomad Land won the National Book Award in the category Young People's Literature.
It was named a Newbery Honor book in January 2026.