Laila Lalami's Blog, page 14
May 7, 2015
May 14, 2015
11:15 AM
Reading and Discussion
HSS 165
Santa Monica Community College
Santa Monica, California
May 18, 2015
4:45 PM
Reading and Discussion
INTS 1113
University of California Riverside
Riverside, California
May 1, 2015
October 23, 2015
7:30 PM
Hurston Wright Legacy Award Ceremony
Washington Plaza Hotel
10 Thomas Circle, NW
Washington, DC
April 21, 2015
Pulitzer Prize Finalist
I was teaching an undergraduate fiction workshop yesterday when I received a text from my friend Mark congratulating me. “On what?” I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I found out that The Moor’s Account was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, along with Richard Ford’s Let Me Be Frank With You and Joyce Carol Oates’s Lovely, Dark, Deep. The winner was Anthony Doerr for All The Light We Cannot See. In shock, I blurted out the news to my students, who erupted in applause and cheers.
I’m thrilled and grateful for this recognition, and I am especially honored to be included in such fine company. When I came across the story of Mustafa/Estebanico six years ago, I immediately knew it had to be told in the form of a novel, but I worried that I did not have the talent to do it and that, even if I did somehow pull it off, no one would care about it. But this character simply wouldn’t let go of me, so I took a leap. I wrote the book I wanted to write, with no expectation of it ever finding a readership or garnering any attention. But, oh, it’s so nice when that happens! My heartfelt thanks to the Pulitzer Prize fiction judges.
Last week, The Moor’s Account was also named a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in fiction, a national prize for published writers of African descent. The other nominees are Chris Abani’s The Secret History of Las Vegas, Ishmael Beah’s Radiance of Tomorrow, Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State, Nadifa Mohamed’s The Orchard of Lost Souls, and Tiphanie Yanique’s Land of Love and Drowning. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Washington, DC, in October.
Pulitzer Prize Nomination
I was teaching an undergraduate fiction workshop yesterday when I received a text from my friend Mark congratulating me. “On what?” I asked. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I found out that The Moor’s Account was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, along with Richard Ford’s Let Me Be Frank With You and Joyce Carol Oates’s Lovely, Dark, Deep. The winner was Anthony Doerr for All The Light We Cannot See. In shock, I blurted out the news to my students, who erupted in applause and cheers.
I’m thrilled and grateful for this recognition, and I am especially honored to be included in such fine company. When I came across the story of Mustafa/Estebanico six years ago, I immediately knew it had to be told in the form of a novel, but I worried that I did not have the talent to do it and that, even if I did somehow pull it off, no one would care about it. But this character simply wouldn’t let go of me, so I took a leap. I wrote the book I wanted to write, with no expectation of it ever finding a readership or garnering any attention. But, oh, it’s so nice when that happens! My heartfelt thanks to the Pulitzer Prize fiction judges.
Last week, The Moor’s Account was also named a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in fiction, a national prize for published writers of African descent. The other nominees are Chris Abani’s The Secret History of Las Vegas, Ishmael Beah’s Radiance of Tomorrow, Roxane Gay’s An Untamed State, Nadifa Mohamed’s The Orchard of Lost Souls, and Tiphanie Yanique’s Land of Love and Drowning. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Washington, DC, in October.
April 19, 2015
April 19, 2015
12:30 PM
Fiction panel: Untold Stories
With Ryan Gattis, Laila Lalami, Atticus Lish, Nina Revoyr and moderated by Lilliam Rivera
Seeley G. Mudd (SGM 124)
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
March 28, 2015
March 28, 2015
11:30 AM
Panel: The Transnationalists – American Writers on Border Crossings
Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival
Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 27, 2015
March 27, 2015
10:30 AM
Deceptive Histories, Truthful Fictions
Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival
The Historic New Orleans Collection
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 23, 2015
Spring Events
I’m popping back on the blog for a couple of announcements. The audio book of The Moor’s Account, read by Neil Shah, was released by Audible last month. UK rights to the book have sold to Mitchell Albert at Garnet, for a release date of August 2015, which will coincide with the paperback release of the book with Vintage, here in the U.S. And I am back on the road again! I will be doing two events at the Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans. Details below:
March 27, 2015
10:30 AM
Deceptive Histories, Truthful Fictions
Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival
The Historic New Orleans Collection
New Orleans, LouisianaMarch 28, 2015
11:30 AM
Panel: The Transnationalists – American Writers on Border Crossings
Molly Crabapple, Phil Klay, Laila Lalami, moderated by Pamela Paul
Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival
Hotel Monteleone, Queen Anne Ballroom
Then, in April, I will be doing a panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
April 19, 2015
12:30 PM
Fiction: Untold Stories
Ryan Gattis, Laila Lalami, Atticus Lish, moderated by Michelle Franke
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California
Do come by and say hi!
Photo: Morning dew on a recent hike in Solstice Canyon, Santa Monica.
