Mehreen Ahmed

Fiction Writer

West End, Brisbane, QLD
Australia
Queensland AU
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Mehreen Ahmed is an acclaimed voice in Australian literature.The Midwest Book Review hails her work for its "exceptional flair for narrative storytelling" and "compellingly memorable characters." With eleven books across various genres—ranging from novels to micro-fiction—her stories have been translated into multiple languages and featured on NationalFlashFictionDay(NZ), AntipodeSF Radio, to name a few.Currently she is Fiction Editor for the UK-based Panorama: Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature.

Books

White Moon (Bridge House Publishing, UK 2025)

The Blue, Red Lyrae (Impspired Magazine, UK 2020)

They Move Away Like Waves (Impspired Magazine, UK 2022 )

Incandescence (Impspired Magazine, UK 2023)

Grassbleed (Mindfield Publication, Nigeria 2021)

Gatherings (Bridge House Publishing, UK 2021)

The Pacifist (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, Canada 2017)

Snapshots (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, Canada 2016)

Moirae (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, Canada 2016)

Seedlings (Alien Buddha Press, USA 2024)

The Blotted Line (Story Institute, Out-Of-Print, USA 2013)

Jacaranda Blues (Currently Unpublished, Initially published in 2011)

Publications/Forthcoming

Cambridge University Press,University of Hawaii Press,Michigan State University Press,Chiron Literary Review,Perception Magazine:Syracuse University,Straylight Magazine:Wisconsin-Parkland University,VisualVerse,The Talon Review:North Florida Univeristy,Metachrosis Literary:Dundee University,Bitterleaf Books:YSJ University,Coffin Bell,ISTE,Call-ej,University of Kent Press,The Sheaf:University of Saskatoon,Jimson Weed UVA,Aphelion: A website of science fiction and fantasy,BlazeVOX,Journal of Expressive Writing,Popshot Quarterly,Hoot Review,Shorts Magazine,Writer's Digest:Six Sentences,In Parentheses.art Literary Review_new Modernism,IceFloe Press,Litro Magazine UK,Mr Bull,Gone Lawn.Otoliths,BeZine,Atherton Review,Muse India,RIC Journal,Ethel Zine,Olney Magazine,Alternate Route,The Gorko Gazette,The Wise Owl,Shakespear's sonnet reimagined,WordCityLit,Mōtus Audāx Press,KNOT Magazine,The Antonym,Insignia 2022 Best Asian Speculative Fiction Anthology,The Hennepin Review, Decolonial passage,Literary Heist,Mad Swirl,Alien Buddha Press,Rogue Agent Journal:Sundress Publications,October Hill Magazine,Synchronised Chaos,Oddball Magazine,Panorama:The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature,Pine Cone Review,Noctivagant Press,Coin-Operated Press,Connotation Press,Door is A Jar,ELJ Scissors and Spackle,The Chamber Magazine,Flash Boulevard,Five Minutes,Chewers and Masticadores,Quail Bell,Ponder Savant,ShabdAaweg Review,Phenomenal Literature,Crêpe & Penn,Flash Frontier,Ellipsis Zine,Ginosko#24#29#30,Brown Bag,The Cabinet of Heed,Sequoyah Cherokee River Journal,Melbourne Culture Corner,Prosetrics,Literati Magazine,The Global Youth Literary Review,Active Muse,Litmora Literary Magazine,Ayaksala,Anti-Heroin Chic,Love in the time of Covid Chronicle,Unpublished Platform,Wellington Street Review,Nailpolish Stories,Setu,Impspired Magazine,The Writers and Readers'Magazine,Empyrean Literary Magazine,WINK,Mono,KREAXXXION Review,Thorn Literary Magazine,3 Moon Magazine,Merak Magazine,Sage Cigarettes,All Existing,The Bombay Review,FlashBack Fiction,Down in the Dirt,CC&D,Nymphs,Portand Metrozine,Academy of Heart and Mind,Mojave Heart,The Piker Press,Kitaab,Nthanda,CommuterLit,Angel City Review,Paper Djinn,FreeFlashFiction,Cafe Dissensus,Adelaide Literary Magazine,Scarlet Leaf Review,Terror House Magazine,The Punch Magazine,Furtive Dalliance,Flash Fiction North,Bridge House,Cosmic Teapot,The Hooghly Review,The Chakker and more.

Anthologies

Visual Verse: Anthology of Art and Words, Ravens Press Quoth, Alien Buddha Zine, Adelaide Literary Magazine, CC&D, Hoot Magazine, Impspired Press, and more.

 

Publications & Prizes

Anthologies:
Alien Buddha Zine (Alien Buddha Press, 2024)
,
Ethel Zine (Ethel, 2024)
,
Quaternary Realms (CreateSpace, 2024)
,
Visual Verse: An Anthology of Art and Words (Curved House, 2022)
,
Adelaide Literary Award Anthology (Adelaide Books, 2020)
Books:
White Moon (Bridge House, 2025)
,
Seedlings (Alien Buddha Press, 2024)
,
Incandescence (Impspired Press, 2023)
,
They Move Away Like Waves (Impspired Press, 2022)
,
Gatherings (Bridge House, 2021)
,
Grassbleed (Mindfield Publishing, 2021)
,
The Blue, Red Lyrae (Impspired Press, 2020)
,
The Pacifist (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, 2017)
,
Snapshots (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, 2016)
Journals:
Academy of the Heart and Mind
,
Alien Buddha Zine
,
Alternate Route
,
Anti-Heroin Chic
,
Aphelion Webzine
,
Argyle Literary Magazine
,
Bending Genres
, ,
Centaur
,
Chamber Magazine
, ,
Connotation Press: An Online Artifact
, ,
Door is a Jar Magazine
,
Fevers of the Mind
,
Freedom Fiction Journal
, , ,
Journal of Expressive Writing
, , ,
McNeese Review
,
Muse India
, , ,
Olney Magazine
,
Otoliths
, , , ,
Talon Review
,
The Bombay Review
,
The Cabinet of Heed
,
The Piker Press
Novella:
Moirae (Cosmic Teapot Publishing, 2016)
Prizes won: 

Recognitions/Wins

Featured in Literary Journal (Issue 24) and selected for the Ginosko Substack Spotlight Series by Editors (2024)

Highly praised by Midwest Book Review for The Pacifist (2017)Drunken Druid Editor's Choice, DD Book Awards, The Pacifist (2018)

First Place_Academy of the Heart and Mind Flowers Contest The Phases of the Moon, May (2022)

Waterloo Writing Competition, Dolly, May (2020)

Ayaskala Literary Magazine, Rain and Coffee (2023)

Cabinet-of-Heed Stream-of-Consciousness Challenge Drawer Four Black Mirror, April (2020)

Nominations

  • Best Small Fictions 

The Stretch (Boudin, 2025)

  • Best of the Net

Interlude (Literarti Magazine, 2020),

Elysium (Flash Fiction North, 2020Number Ninety-Four (Decolonial Passage, 24/2025)

Of The Blue Evening (The Gorko Gazette, 2025)

  • Pushcarts

Ylem (PaperDjinn2020)

Paradox of Love (Centaur Iit, 2026)

James Tait Black Prize for Fiction, Gatherings (Bridgehouse Publishing, 2021)

  • Ditmar Eligibility List

2026 Ditmar Award EligibilityBest Short Story category for “Cloudfields” published in AntipodeanSF 318. Recognised among top Australian speculative fiction works of 2025.

2025 Ditmar Award EligibilityBest Short Story category for “Maya published in AntipodeanSF 305. Recognised among top Australian speculative fiction works of 2024.

2021 Ditmar Award EligibilityBest Novella category for Offing and The Cheshire Grins: The Blue,Red Lyrae published in Impspired Magazine. Recognised among top Australian speculative fiction works of 2020.

2019 Ditmar Award Eligibility—Best Short Story category for “7th Sky” published in Spillwords Press. Recognised among top Australian speculative fiction works of 2018.

2016 Ditmar Award Eligibility—Best Novella category for “Moirae” published by Createspace and Cosmic Teapot Publishing. Recognised among top Australian speculative fiction works of 2015.

  • Best of

Alien Buddha Zine: The Script (2024)

The Gorko Gazette: Of The Blue Evening (Readers Favorite Fiction, 2023)

Finalist/Shortlist 

    Top Fantasy Shortlist, Editor’s Choice Award: Exemplary Eclectic Fiction | Freedom Fiction Journal (2025)-"Around the Bend" and "Flamenco"

    Finalist Fourth Adelaide Literary Award Contest Flower Girl, February (2020)

    Semi-finalist Alien Buddha Zine House of Horrors, The Yellow God (2024)

    • Honorable Mention

    Weavers of Words contest Unpublished Platform Silent Bleat, March (2022)

    • Best ofs/10 Most Read Stories

    Paint the City Red, AntipodeanSF (2025)

    Cloud-fields, AntipodeanSF (2025)

    Nacre, Impspired Magazine (2022)

    Scent, Impspired Magazine (2022)

    No Life On Mars, Impspired Magazine (2021)

    Perforation, Impspired Magazine  (2021)

    Dirge, Impspired Magazine (2020)

    Dear Father, Impspired Magazine, 2025

    The Other, Mad Swirl, 3.21.26

    The Lament, Mad Swirl, 9.21.24

    City Smell, Mad Swirl, 01.20.24

    Vape, Mad Swirl, 3.11.23

    Space, Mad Swirl, 7.22.23

     River of Melted Chocolate, Alien Buddda (2023)

    Bats Downunder, CafeLit8: Writer's Choice (2019)

      • Author Spotlight

       Deep well, Alien Buddha, 2023

       River of Melted Chocolate, Popshot Quarterly, 2023

      Deadfly, EthelZine, 2024

      Collector's Item, BlazeVox, spring 2024

      • Amazon Best Sellers

      The Pacifist #7 Best Seller in Hot New Release List Amazon

      The Pacifist Audio Best Seller Amazon

       

      Personal Favorites

      Favorite authors: 
      Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Mujtaba Ali, George Orwell, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Orhan Pamuk, and Eleanor Catton, to name a few.
      What I'm reading now: 
      My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

      More Information

      Gives readings: 
      Yes
      Travels for readings: 
      Yes
      Identifies as: 
      Australian
      Prefers to work with: 
      Any
      Fluent in: 
      Bengali;Bangla, English
      Born in: 
      Dhaka, DHA
      Bangladesh
      Dhaka
      Raised in: 
      Dhaka, DHA
      Bangladesh
      Dhaka
      Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
      Last update: Jun 03, 2026