In the memoir The Butterfly Mosque, published by Grove Atlantic in 2010, author G. Willow Wilson writes on her experiences crossing cultures and embracing Islam as an American girl raised in an atheist home in Denver, Colorado. Wilson tells the story of her first experiences with Islam at Boston University, and how they lead to her eventual move to Cairo and romance with a Muslim man, her now husband Omar.

Wilson's memoir offers insight into the themes and characters that appear in her other works, which focus on fairly representing Muslim, Muslim-American, and Middle Eastern characters for Western audiences. In 2014, Wilson published Ms. Marvel, a popular comic staring Kamala Khan, a Muslim teenager from New Jersey, which was acclaimed because it is one of few comics to feature a Muslim girl as a protagonist. Wilson also published Alif the Unseen, a fantasy novel that explores Middle Eastern folklore and current events. The Butterfly Mosque was named a Seattle Times Best Book of 2010, and Wilson's works have achieved her a Hugo Award, a World Fantasy Award, and the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity, among others.