Fatima Daas (born 1995) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

writer. Her debut novel, ''The Last One'' (French: ''La Petite Dernière''), follows the life of a young

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

woman as she explores her sexuality, religion, and relationships while living in

Clichy-sous-Bois Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris. It is located from central Paris.Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Biography

Daas was born in

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...

to an Algerian immigrant family. Her family settled in the working-class Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and she spent much of her childhood in the surrounding department of

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

. Daas is the youngest of three daughters and the only French-born. Daas and her family are Muslims. Daas is a lesbian and describes herself as an intersectional feminist. Daas attended Lycée Alfred Nobel. As a lycéenne, Daas began writing and attended writing workshops led by the French mystery writer, Tanguy Viel. She went on to enroll at

Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis Paris 8 University (), or usually the University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis or Paris 8, is a public university in the Greater Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is base ...

where she completed a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

. As a part of her coursework, Daas wrote a novel over a period of 18 months that ultimately became ''The Last One''.

''The Last One''

''The Last One'' was first published in French on August 20, 2020 when Daas was 25 years old and subsequently translated into English by Lara Vergnaud for publication on November 23, 2021. Daas describes the novel as a work of

autofiction Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...

as the life of the main character, who is also named Fatima Daas, parallels Daas' own. The book explores the intersection of the protagonist's identity as a queer Muslim woman studying and living in an immigrant-majority suburb where her identities both contradict and compliment one another. When discussing the seemingly conflicted nature of the character – and Daas' own – identities, Daas stated: "I didn’t suffer because of who I am. I was never ashamed of being a lesbian, but I was ashamed of the loneliness of being unable to talk about it. I wanted to transmit this feeling in my writing by inhabiting a character that refuses to choose, despite the external pressures of the world". Fatima Daas is not Daas' real name. When asked, Daas has refused to share her real name to avoid involving her family in her career. Daas has stated that a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

allows her to reinvent herself and, in turn, explore multiple identities through her work. She cites the work and careers of

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

Abdellah Taïa Abdellah Taïa (; born 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who writes in the French language and has been based in Paris since 1999. He has published nine novels, many of them heavily autobiographical. His books have been translated into A ...

, Athena Farrokhzad,

Faïza Guène Faïza Guène (born 7 June 1985) is a French writer and director, best known for her two novels, ''Kiffe kiffe demain'' and ''Du rêve pour les oufs''. She has also directed several short films, including ''Rien que des mots'' (2004). Biography ...

Mehdi Charef Mehdi Charef (born 21 October 1952) is a French film director and screenwriter of Algerian descent. He has worked on eleven films between 1985 and 2007. His film '' Le thé au harem d'Archimède'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section ...

, and

Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; ; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints o ...

as inspiration for her own writing. References to Duras and Ernaux appear throughout ''The Last One''. At Paris 8, while working on ''The Last One'', Daas met French filmmaker and novelist, Virginie Despantes, when the latter came to deliver a talk; Despentes encouraged Daas to continue working on her novel as it touched on subject matters rarely featured in French novels. Despentes went on to praise the published novel and offered a book endorsement that reads: "Fatima Daas carves out a portrait, like a patient, attentive sculptor…or like a mine searcher, aware that each word could make everything explode".

Prizes

* Winner of th
Macondo prize in 2021
* Winner of the Les Inrocks prize for best first novel in 2020 *

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skir ...

: Best Book of the Month *

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

: Best Debut Novel of the Season *

Lambda Literary The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

: Most Anticipated Book of the Month *

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

Translation Prize Finalist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daas, Fatima 1995 births Living people French lesbian writers French LGBTQ novelists French women novelists People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis alumni Lesbian novelists 21st-century French women writers 21st-century French novelists 21st-century French LGBTQ people