Leila Mottley (born 2002) is an American novelist and poet. She is ''

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 ...

'' bestselling author of '' Nightcrawling'', which was a nominated for numerous awards, including the

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 ...

, making her the youngest author to have been nominated for the award. In 2018, at age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California.

Early life

Mottley was born and raised in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, where she continues to reside. She began attending

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in 2019 and is currently on indefinite leave to pursue writing.

Career

Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California in 2018 at age 16, having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate. Her poetry has appeared in ''

''. Mottley co-wrote and starred in a documentary short, ''When I Write It,'' an official selection of the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2020. In June 2022, Mottley published her first novel, ''Nightcrawling,'' which she began writing at age 16. She wrote the original version during the summer of 2019, shortly after completing her high school education. At the time, she was employed as a substitute preschool teacher. In 2024, Leila Mottley published her first poetry collection, ''woke up no light''.

Awards and honors

In 2018, at the age of 16, Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California, having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate. Her debut novel, ''Nightcrawling,'' was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller and an

Oprah's Book Club Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show '' The Oprah Winfrey Show'', highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new book, usually a novel, for view ...

pick in June 2022. ''AudioFile'' included it on their list of the best audiobooks of 2022.

Selected publications

* '' Nightcrawling'' (2022) *''woke up no light'' (2024)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottley, Leila 2002 births 21st-century American poets 21st-century American novelists American Book Award winners American women novelists American women poets Living people Novelists from California Poets from California Smith College alumni Writers from Oakland, California