Shani Boian­jiu was born in Jer­sualem in 1987. She served in the Israeli Defense Forces for two years. Her fic­tion has appeared inThe New York­er, Vice mag­a­zine and Zoetrope: All Sto­ry. Shani is the youngest recip­i­ent ever of the Nation­al Book Foundation’s 5 under 35, and The Peo­ple of For­ev­er are Not Afraid is her first nov­el. She lives in Israel.