The One and Only Rumi

Rabiah York is the award-winning author of the picture books The Conference of the Birds and The Gift of Ramadan, as well as the young adult novel No True Believers. After earning a BA in Religious Studies from George Washington University, she spent a decade abroad in the Middle East. She also has an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. She teaches English at a middle school in Virginia and spends her free time with her husband, Jeremy, three children, two cats, and a memoir-in-progress. Maneli Manouchehri has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and a master’s degree in illustration. She has contributed illustrations to over thirty book projects and participated in numerous illustration, painting, and print-making exhibitions in Iran, Italy, Georgia, Slovakia, France, Germany, Australia, and Denmark. Her numerous awards and honors include an IBBY certificate of Honor for illustrating Zal-O Simorgh. She lectures and teaches at several art institutes and universities, and she lives in Tehran, Iran.