Christy George Lefteri (born 1980) is an English novelist and lecturer at

Brunel University London Brunel University of London (BUL) is a Public university, public Research universities, research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It is named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a Victorian era, Victorian engineer and pione ...

. Her second novel '' The Beekeeper of Aleppo'' (2019) became a ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' bestseller and won the

Aspen Words Literary Prize The Aspen Words Literary Prize, established in 2018, is an annual literary award presented by Aspen Words, a literary center in Aspen, Colorado Aspen is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is ...

Early life and education

Lefteri was born to Greek Cypriot refugee parents who met in London after fleeing the 1974 invasion; her paternal grandparents ran shops in Brixton and Tottenham. Lefteri grew up on estates in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

before moving out to the suburbs. She attended

Southgate School Southgate School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the Oakwood, London, Oakwood area of London, England. The school is situated just east of the Cat Hill roundabout of the A111 road (England), A111 and A110 road (Eng ...

. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English, and a Master of Arts (MA) and PhD in Creative Writing, all from

. She then studied Psychoanalysis.

Career

Lefteri's debut novel ''A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible'' was published via

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

in April 2009. The novel is told from the perspectives of three different characters amidst the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

. ''A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible'' was longlisted for the 2010 Edinburgh First Book Award and a 2012

Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

. For six years, Lefteri worked as a psychotherapist at a central London hospital. In response to the Syrian civil war and

refugee crisis A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and/or dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of refugees. These could be Forced displacement, forcibly displaced persons, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers or any other huge ...

, Lefteri felt compelled to help and volunteered at the Hope Centre in Athens for two summers. Inspired by her time in Athens, combined with her own parents' experiences, Lefteri returned to writing. In a six-way auction in 2018, Zaffre (a Bonnier Books imprint) acquired the rights to publish Lefteri's second novel '' The Beekeeper of Aleppo'' in May 2019. The novel follows the journey of two Syrian refugees named Nuri and Afra. The titular beekeeper Mustafa is based on Ryad Alsous, an academic at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

and formerly

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

. With over a million copies sold internationally as of 2023, ''The Beekeeper of Aleppo'' became ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

third bestselling fiction paperback of 2020, made the Richard & Judy Book Club list, won the 2020

, and was runner-up for the

Dayton Literary Peace Prize The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is an annual United States literary award "recognizing the power of the written word to promote peace" that was first awarded in 2006. Awards are given for adult fiction and non-fiction books published at some point ...

in the fiction category. In addition, the audiobook version, narrated by

Art Malik Athar ul-Haque Malik (; born 13 November 1952), known as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-British actor. He achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and supporting roles in assorted British television serials and films. His break ...

, was shortlisted for a

British Book Award The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

. In 2020, Manilla Press (another Bonnier Books imprint) acquired the rights to publish Lefteri's third novel ''Songbirds'' in July 2021. The novel is centered around the disappearance of a Sri Lankan domestic worker named Nisha, based on a real-life case of five migrant women and two children disappearing from Cyprus. ''Songbirds'' made ''

'' top 100 bestseller list of 2022. Lefteri reunited with Manilla Press for her fourth novel ''The Book of Fire'' in August 2023. With the backdrop of forest wildfires on a Greek island, the novel deals with a family's trauma. Lefteri had witnessed the

2018 Attica wildfires A series of wildfires in Greece, during the 2018 European heat wave, began in the coastal areas of Attica (region), Attica in July 2018. 104 people were confirmed dead from the Mati fires. The fires were, at that time, the second-deadliest wildfi ...

firsthand.

Adaptations

''The Beekeeper of Aleppo'' was adapted for stage by Nesrin Alrefaai and

Matthew Spangler Matthew Spangler is an American playwright, director, and professor of performance studies. Body of work Matthew Spangler's plays have been produced on Broadway, in London's West End at Wyndham's Theatre and the Playhouse Theatre, off Broadway a ...

. Directed by Miranda Cromwell and starring Roxy Faridany and Alfred Clay as Afra and Nuri respectively, the play had its world premiere in February 2023 at the

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

. The production subsequently went on a UK and Ireland tour.

Personal life

Lefteri has a daughter.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible'' (2010) * '' The Beekeeper of Aleppo'' (2019) * ''Songbirds'' (2021) * ''The Book of Fire'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:lefteri, christy Living people 1980 births Academics of Brunel University London Alumni of Brunel University London English people of Greek Cypriot descent English psychotherapists English women novelists Novelists from London People from the City of London People from Edmonton, London People from Islington (district) People from Southgate, London Writers from the London Borough of Enfield Writers from the London Borough of Islington