Balsam Karam (b. 1983) is of Kurdish ancestry and has lived in Sweden since she was a young child. She is an author, librarian and university lecturer, and made her literary debut in 2018 with the critically acclaimed Event Horizon, which was shortlisted for the Katapult Prize. Her second novel, The Singularity, was shortlisted for the August Prize and was published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2024.