Laila Lalami (, born 1968) is a Moroccan-American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, essayist, and professor. After earning her '' licence ès lettres'' degree in Morocco, she received a fellowship to study in the United Kingdom (UK), where she earned an MA in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. In 1992 Lalami moved to the United States, where she completed a PhD in linguistics at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She began publishing her writing in 1996. Her first novel, composed of linked stories, was published in 2005. In 2015 she was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in Fiction for her novel '' The Moor's Account'' (2014), about Estevanico, which received strong critical praise and won several other awards.

Early life and education

Lalami was born in a working-class family in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. She spoke Moroccan Arabic at home, and learned Standard Arabic and French in elementary school. According to Lalami, all the children's books she read as a child were written in French, and she began to write her own stories in French.

"The characters' names, their homes, their cities, their lives were wholly different from my own," she explained, "and yet, because of my constant exposure to them, they had grown utterly familiar. These images invaded my imaginary world to such an extent that I never thought they came from an alien place."

While her parents both read widely in a variety of genres and encouraged her writing, Lalami has said that they thought she needed to study a profession other than writing. Lalami earned her '' licence ès lettres'' in English from Mohammed V University in Rabat. In 1990, she received a British Council fellowship to study in England, where she completed an MA in

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. After graduating, she returned to Morocco and worked briefly as a journalist and commentator. In 1992 she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, to attend the

, from which she graduated with a PhD in Linguistics. She had chosen the field of linguistics in order to be involved with the study of language, even in analysis. Her experiences and studies caused her to reflect on the uses of French and Arabic in Morocco. She was influenced by the work of Palestinian-American intellectual

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...

. She became aware of the

code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. These alternations are generally intended to ...

followed by her and her family, and some upper-class native Moroccans, in their transitions between the two languages. Writing professionally in English, she said, gave her another perspective.Laila Lalami
"So to Speak" (essay)
'' World Literature Today'', September 2009.

Career

Lalami began writing fiction and nonfiction in English in 1996. Her literary criticism, cultural commentary, and opinion pieces have appeared in ''The

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', '' Boston Review'', ''The

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''The

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', '' The Daily Beast'', and elsewhere. In 2016, she was named both a columnist for ''

'' magazine and a critic-at-large for ''The

Book Review''. Her first book, described as a novel or collection of short stories, '' Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits'', was published in 2005. It follows four Moroccan immigrants who try to cross the Straits of Gibraltar on a lifeboat, which capsizes offshore. The book has an unusual narrative structure: the opening story takes place while the main characters are making the crossing; the next four stories flash back to the characters' lives before their fateful journey; and the final four stories flash forward, so that the reader learns the fates of the four. ''Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits'' received wide critical acclaim. In the ''Washington Post'',

Carolyn See Carolyn See (née Laws; January 13, 1934 – July 13, 2016) was a professor emerita of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of ten books, including the memoir, ''Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America'', ...

described it as "a bracing and beautiful little novel". Pankaj Mishra, writing in the '' New York Review of Books'', noted that "Lalami writes about her home country without the expatriate's self-indulgent and often condescending nostalgia." Lalami's second book, the novel '' Secret Son'' (2009), is a coming-of-age story set in the slums of

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. A young college student named Youssef El Mekki discovers that his father—whom he'd been led to believe was a high school teacher, and dead for many years—is a businessman who lives across town. But Youssef's burgeoning relationship with his father, and his sudden change in fortune, are threatened by social and political unrest in the city. The novel explores themes of identity and class in a world increasingly divided by political ideology. ''Secret Son'' was longlisted for the Orange Prize. '' The Moor's Account'', Lalami's third book, was published by Pantheon Books in September 2014. The novel is told from the perspective of Estevanico, a Moroccan slave who is documented as part of the ill-fated Narváez expedition of 1527 and was one of four survivors to reach

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1536. He later led expeditions as the first black explorer of America. ''The Moor's Account'' won the American Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 2019, Lalami published another novel, '' The Other Americans''. The book begins with the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant in a hit-and-run accident in a small town in California, and is told from the perspectives of nine different characters who are connected to him. ''The Other Americans'' was a finalist for National Book Award for Fiction and the Kirkus Prize. Lalami's next book, ''Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America'', is a collection of essays on the theme of American identity and citizenship. It was published by Pantheon Books in September 2020. Lalami has received an Oregon Literary Arts grant, a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

Fellowship, and a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

.Guggenheim Foundation
Guggenheim Foundation press release She was selected in 2009 by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

as a Young Global Leader. She is a distinguished professor of creative writing at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

and a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Radcliffe Fellow.

Recognition

For ''Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits''

*2006, Fletcher Pratt Fellowship in Fiction, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference *2006, Oregon Book Award, Finalist *2006, Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship in Fiction *2006, Caine Prize for African Writing, Finalist *2006, John Gardner Fiction Prize, Finalist

For ''The Moor's Account''

* 2014, Langum Prizes (Historical Fiction Prize) * 2015, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist * 2015,

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

longlist * 2015, American Book Award winner * 2015, Arab American Book Award winner * 2015, Hurston/Wright Legacy Award winner

For ''The Other Americans''

* 2019, Joyce Carol Oates Prize, Winner * 2019, National Book Award for Fiction, Finalist * 2019, Kirkus Prize, Finalist * 2020, Arab American Book Award for Fiction, Winner * 2020, Aspen Words Literary Prize, Longlist

Other honors

*1990, British Council Fellowship *2003, Morocco-British Council Literary Prize for the Short Story *2007,

Fellowship *2009, Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing, Finalist *2009, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum *2010, Orange Prize longlist for Secret Son *2012, Lannan Foundation Residency Fellowship *2013, Elizabeth George Foundation "Women Authoring Change" Fellowship *2016,

Bibliography

;Novels *'' Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits'' ( Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC, 2005. ) *'' Secret Son'' ( Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC, 2009. ) *'' The Moor's Account'' ( Pantheon Books, New York, NY, 2014. ) *'' The Other Americans'' ( Pantheon Books, New York, NY, 2019. ) *'' The Dream Hotel'' ( Bloomsbury Publishing, London, UK, 2025. ) ;Nonfiction *''Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America'' ( Pantheon Books, New York, NY, 2020. ) ;Short stories * *"Echo". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. September 8, 2011. * "That Time At My Brother's Wedding." '' The New York Times Magazine.'' July 8, 2020.THE DECAMERON PROJECT
The New York Times Magazine

References

External links

Author Site

Author's Blog

Lalami archive from ''The Nation''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalami, Laila 1968 births Moroccan women writers American women novelists American columnists Moroccan columnists Moroccan women columnists American women columnists Writers from Rabat Living people Moroccan literary critics Moroccan women literary critics American people of Moroccan descent University of Southern California alumni Alumni of University College London Mohammed V University alumni Muslim writers University of California, Riverside faculty 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American Book Award winners The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Pulitzer Prize winners American Muslims