Mariam Saeed Khan is a creative writer, poet, researcher, digital storyteller, podcaster, consultant and a journalist. Her work mainly encompasses cultural heritage, literary and creative speculative. Her journalistic features, fiction, poetry, non-fiction, interviews and by-lines are widely read by the creative industry of Pakistan & internationally since 14 years; making her a recognized creative. A special mention and Certificate of Grateful Recognition in 2022 by The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons Commonwealth song Competition from Pakistan was given to her. Later, becoming a member due to the achievements at Columbia University’s Seminar on Innovation and Education by Professor Ronald Gross and in 2024, was Runner’s up for Beaconhouse Women of Excellence Awards 2024- Inspirational Students and ended 2024 by being a Winner of Arts and Media Category as a Distinguished Alumni Awards’24 at School of Tomorrow Conference– from 600+ nominations by Beaconhouse Old Students Society November 2024.
Her education also helped her in reaching the scales for the career. In December’18, Khan completed her post-graduation from Beaconhouse National University with a distinction in her thesis (MPhil in Public Relations & Advertising). She was also a highlighted alumni for her achievements as an undergraduate student at Lahore School of Economics’16 (BS Majors in Political Sciences & Minors in Media Studies). Later, participant student remotely on scholarship for Columbia University’s School of the Arts' Digital Storytelling Lab Program 2020.
Khan’s poetry is read, shared & reviewed by Paulo Coelho, Kaveh Akbar, Queen Mary University London, Ink-Q Adam Schmalhoz, Ahdaf Soueif, Annette Crossland, Strange Horizons and published on Daily Times, Nymphs and Thugs UK, Pandemonium Journal and Iambapoet –Quarterly Journal. Her journalistic features were published in Dawn, The News on Sunday, Express Tribune Magazine, Youlin Magazine, Artistan, Mangobaaz, PG, INK Magazine, The Friday Times, Daily Times, Ideas Evolved, Rock Paper Scissors, Medium etc. Her work page by the name of MSK Channel is where she is doing creative collaborative work locally and internationally.
Khan has given masterclasses as a guest speaker on The Desi Collective (The Writers' Block Party), Virtual Camp PK, Lahore School of Economics, metaLAB at Harvard, Xavier University Philippines. She was given two awards for her work- Token of Appreciation and as a Judge of New Media Practices Exhibition 2022 by Lahore School of Economics.
She was featured for her work on TEDxWomen Lahore attendee talk in December'19 on "Why rewriting our past stories of family lines matters for future narrative?"; Guest of Honor" at SICAS Girls Campus for the Reading Awareness Week in September'19; Humans of Fuzia India 2020; NayaDaur; My Awesome Journey’15; International Women’s Day for Young Creative Council UK Badass.Gal 2020; 'readpoetry’ National Poetry Month’s video with international poets 2020; 'Our Markings' a photographic lockdown book with collaborative efforts; Nymphs & Thugs UK’s leading Record Label; State of the Arts UK; Embracing Pakistan-American Mainstream Culture Conference– Washington DC’11; Stay-at-Home International Literature Festival 2021- Arts Council England and University of Glasgow; The Average Mommy Blogpost, Women’s Time Magazine, Dawn News TV, Beaconhouse BOSS’s International Women’s Day 2023 ; Beaconhouse Memory Lane 2022; Pakistan National TV- Weekend World, TED Circles, The Desi Collective’s The Writer’s Block Party Festival; Dawn News TV–Lahore Literary Festival, Moderator at Lahore Literary Festival 2022; Newsweek Pakistan; The Print India; Columbia University as a Member of Innovation in Seminar; Let’s Talk with Dr Qayyum- Mental Health, Envisioning, Beaconhouse Old Students Society Memory Lane, Lahore School of Economics Alumni; Pamosaic (Performing Arts Mosaic, Houston,US) ; She has been selectively performing her poetry and writing; being invited and selected at various platforms of open mics for literary audience hosted by The Aleph Review,The Last Word Bookstore’s Open Mics, Olomopolo Media, The Lahore Heritage Club, Rethinking Writing by LEARN and Velvet Voices Poetry Edition.
For the services at TED Community as a TED circles host for a year, she was awarded TED membership and a hosting milestone of successfully conducting 10 circles virtually in a year that was and is unprecedented. She was also invited as the guest at S Studios for Youth & Mental Health’s show ‘Let’s Talk with Dr Qaqqum’ which she dedicated to her late father recently and parents' living memory; shared experience of engaging with the youth and their struggles with mental health in today's evolving and disconnected world.
She has also worked for the community in non-profit organizations too, like Next Generation Pakistan & Tayaba.org. Became the honorary member of The Walkway School. She also sees adventures and travel as an education tool due to her experience and travels with Ghoomo Phirro and Hiker,pk in Pakistan that is a travel company with its simple message of spreading stories of travel like a local along with organizing running events for runners and hikers. Cycling, hiking and trekking is her way of rejuvenating in communities and participated in UMTB World Series – Galiyat Mountain Trail’23 as a finisher of 21 km run. In 2024, I completed my second half marathon which was Half-Hill Marathon (22 Km) Islamabad.
She presented a participatory and interactive research workshop virtually at metaLAB (at) Harvard which is her PhD research proposal in October 2021. The presentation focused on the speculative nature of poetry as a tool for resistance movements, mapping possibilities of different social fabrics of mindset (futurism), and the connections between family experiences within the political and cultural nexus.
Furthermore, since 2020 till 2022; Khan was selected by International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Migrant Resource Centre, and the Ministry of the interior of Austria and Bulgaria co-fund for their initiative on awareness-raising actions in Pakistan aiming to reduce the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by migrants; journalists training and conferences held virtually and program in person. She actively participated in a series of training sessions organized by Media Matters for Democracy, in collaboration with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and the US State Department, titled "Countering Disinformation & Investigative Reporting for Public Interest." Renowned US media journalists and trainers, Sherry Ricchiardi, PhD, and Frank Folwells conducted the sessions. This led to being selected for her pitch story (restoration of public libraries as a means to revive intellectual discourse in Lahore) and completion of certification on disinformation and investigative journalism for public interest.
This research, titled "For a tolerant society - Restoring Public Libraries can Revive Intellectual discourse in the Heart of Lahore," was published by The News on Sunday, the International Center for Journalists, and Media Matters for Democracy. The report garnered attention from esteemed individuals, including Professor Ronald Gross at Columbia University, Frank Folwells and Muneeza Shamsie.
Sharpening her craft for writing in various genres; she has taken two workshops certifications from Awais Khan -Author of ‘In the Company of Strangers’- on Novel Writing & Short Story Writing; 7 weeks of Prose Fiction Writing Online certification course from Professional Writing Academy UK ((PWA June’19, Course Director: Tom Bromley & Course tutor: Helen Shipman). For that, she produced two short stories that got good feedback and critique from Helen Shipman.); Political Fiction Writing Masterclass, Craft Seminar on screenplay from South Asia in fiction and non-fiction journalism from Fatima Bhutto digitally along with How to write about Pakistan Non-Fiction; Sci-Fi - Clarion West Writers Workshops on five different subjects & instructors; ‘Poetry in the Classroom: A virtual workshop for Educators with Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye’.
In summers of 2023, she was selected for McKinsey and Company’s Forward Learners Program- which Khan has completed from foundation level to advanced level and became an Alumni for Forward Networking by the end of 2023; she also completed British Council’s Culture Protection Fund Training on Project Management and Proposal Writing; and JournalismAI Discovery Course- a project of PolisLSE and funded by Google News Initiative.
In 2024, Khan was nominated from the Alumni Mater of Beaconhouse School System as the regional nomination for the Inspirational Alumni Student Award as the Runner Up for Beaconhouse Women Excellence Award 2024.
The themes in Khan’s research are on cultural heritage, creative-critical thinking, digital archiving, poetry, speculative fiction and resistance leading to changes in society, and how the need for the idea is based upon what's already there and how we can see the blind spots. She believes in the power of stories and words that create a difference through anyway.
