
People
Hisham Matar
Profile
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Hisham Matar, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, explores themes of exile, identity, and belonging. Matar was born in New York to Libyan parents, spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo, and has lived most of his life in London. His memoir The Return (2016) received a Pulitzer Prize in 2017. He is also the author of In the Country of Men (2007), shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Anatomy of a Disappearance (2011); and A Month in Siena (2019). His most recent novel, My Friends (2024), won the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction in 2024, was longlisted for the Booker Prize, and was a finalist for both the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. His work has been translated into over 30 languages. Matar is a Georgetown Global Dialogues (GGD) fellow.