ABOUT mariya

I'm a freelance writer and editor, currently based in Karachi, Pakistan. I'm interested in stories about identity and belonging, and write frequently about our place in the world. I'm a contributor at This American Life, and my work has appeared in Marie Claire Magazine, Bon Appetit, VICE and Al Jazeera America. I was the editor of Lisette Poole’s La Paloma y La Ley, one of TIME Magazine best photobooks of 2019. I’ve reported on Pakistan's first democratic transfer of power, day laborers at a ship breaking yard in Balochistan, and the growing rates of infanticide in Pakistan. I've also written about my experience as a victim of FGM/C, growing up Muslim in Texas and am currently working on a memoir with PRH. You can check out more of my reporting and writing here. I'm represented by Julia Kardon at HSG Agency. 

I graduated with a MS in Magazine Journalism from Columbia University and earned my BA from Mount Holyoke College. I was a Logan Nonfiction Fellow at the Carey Institute of Global Good, and was the inaugural mid-career resident at This American Life. I'm a former GlobalPost/Kaiser Family Foundation Global Health reporting fellow and was a writer in residence at Hedgebrook where I was a recipient of the 2015 Elizabeth George Award. 

I’m available for assigned pieces, for freelance editing and to consult on your work at any stage of the process. Rates are on a sliding scale basis, testimonials available on request.