Roda Ahmed, is a New York Times bestselling publisher and author of over 17 children’s books, including Mae Among the Stars. ( HarperCollinsPublisher 2018) Roda was born in Somalia and grew up in Norway and is fluent in five languages. She has lived in Saudi Arabia, Norway, Paris, and New York. Her debut novel, Forberedelsen (The Preparation), released in 2008 by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, made her Norway’s first immigrant girl to publish a fiction novel. Through her publishing house, Hightree Publishing, she and the team are changing the world one book at a time.  
Roda lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.