photo by Jun Lu
Shahamat’s story begins in the small rural town of Beanibazar, Bangladesh. There, his Abbu was known as the village’s best storyteller, able to gather a roomful of eager listeners with only a few hours’ notice. His Abbu himself had grown up in the shadow of famine, war, and genocide, the turmoil that preceded Bangladesh’s independence in 1971. It was a revolution inseparable from the Bangla language. Poets, novelists, journalists, and storytellers stood at the front lines of that struggle, making it all the more vital for Shahamat’s Abbu to keep the tradition of Bangladeshi storytelling alive when he immigrated to America.
Shahamat grew up in Roswell, Georgia, spending much of his adolescent life waiting tables beside his father in their family restaurant. Their homestyle Bangladeshi cuisine drew customers in, but what kept them coming back were his father’s stories, each one folded into the meal, each one a reminder that life can be nourished as deeply by words, as by food.
It was only natural that Shahamat inherited this love for storytelling. His first published piece was a controversial ranking of the best and worst plush toys for his elementary school’s PTA newsletter. He followed this editorial passion into his college years where he served as the Intersections Editor for the Tulane Hullabaloo. There, he authored a bi-weekly column on issues surrounding race, queer identity, and intersectionality that garnered some of the highest levels of engagement since the newspaper’s inception in 1905.
His love for storytelling now lives on his capacity as a freelance journalist, anthology editor, and fiction writer. His first major editorial story appeared in Vogue India in 2022. The story uncovered how South Asian drag queens draw beauty inspiration from elder Brown women in their lives, signaling his favorite beats to write about: queerness and South Asian identity. Since then, his writing has continued to appear in Vogue India, but also in them, Refinery29, Teen Vogue, Vulture, Interview Magazine, New York Magazine, The Nation, Vogue, The Cut, Business Insider, POPSUGAR, and more.
In June 2023, he signed with JKP Books and Hachette Book Group to produce an anthology of queer South Asian stories. The book is scheduled to release internationally in fall 2026.
In June 2025, Shahamat made his fiction debut with a short story, “How to Get Over Someone Who You Fall in Love with While You’re on Molly,” published in the print edition of Tax Magazine‘s fifth issue and later featured online. Alongside editing his anthology, Shahamat is currently working on his debut fiction novel, White Boys Don’t Have Lips.
In August 2023, Feminist named Shahamat one of the “Top 10 South Asian Thought Leaders to Follow in 2024.” The following year, ADCOLOR recognized him as one of three rising stars among all creative industries, for his contributions to impact-driven public relations strategy.
Shahamat Uddin 