CSUMB alum returns to talk about his well-received debut thriller.

Writer Omar Hussain is from the San Francisco Bay Area and is now living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On the back of his Monterey-based thriller, A Thousand Natural Shocks, it says he holds an MFA in creative writing from NYU, but Hussain is also a graduate of the Humanities and Communication program at CSU Monterey Bay. He will speak there for the Writers from the Edge series on Thursday, Oct. 8.

A Thousand Natural Shocks is set in Monterey, where a young reporter, Dash, gets in trouble for getting involved with a local cult. The thriller was published last year and well-received, including being named by The Washington Post the best book in its genre in 2025. 

It’s always fun to read fiction set in Monterey County, and Hussain certainly portrays the vibe:

“This is Monterey, California,” we read in one of the early passages. “One freeway stop south is Carmel. One five-minute drive west is Pacific Grove. These are the towns for which everyone wishes upon a star. (...) But for locals, it’s a sleepy beach peninsula with zero industry. An area still clinging to yesterday’s greatness, reluctantly accepting tomorrow’s hopelessness.”

Hussain used to freelance for the Weekly in the spring and summer of 2013. Meet him at the CSUMB campus and learn more about his career as a writer.

The Writers from the Edge series has been running in some shape or form since 1997, organized through the CSUMB's College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences/Humanities and Communication department. 

The next iteration of the series will take place on Dec. 1 when poet Kent Leatham will present his collection, Modern Man. This 4-6pm event takes place in the Tanimura & Antle Library (Building 508, Room 1188). 

4-6pm Thursday, Oct. 8. Business Building BIT, Bldg 506. California State University, Monterey Bay, 100 Campus Center, Seaside. For details, contact Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and Social Action Ava Homa at (831) 582-3889 or ahoma@csumb.edu.