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Hannah Lillith Assadi
Assadi in 2024
EducationColumbia University (BA, MFA)
Notable workSonora

Hannah Lillith Assadi (born 1986) is an American novelist.[1] She is the author of Sonora (2017) and The Stars Are Not Yet Bells (2022).

Early life and education

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Assadi was born to a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father.[2] Her father (1943-2022) was born in Safed and fled with his family during the Nakba, living first in Syria and later in Kuwait. He later studied in Perugia, Italy, before moving to New York City, where he worked in the shipping industry and as a taxi driver.[2] Assadi's mother lived in Florala, Alabama, where her family was the only Jewish family in town, before moving to New York City.[2][3] The couple met in Tribeca in the 1983,[2][4] and married the following year.[5]

Assadi was born in New York City, and the family moved to Arizona when she was five.[2] She grew up in Scottsdale,[3] and celebrated both the High Holidays and Eid.[6]

Assadi attended Columbia University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies and a master's degree in creative writing.[2]

Career

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Assadi wrote her first novel in Paris, although she has said that work will likely never be published.[7]

Assadi's debut novel, Sonora, started as an assignment for her master's degree.[6] It was published in 2017, and received the Rosenthal Family Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters[8] and was a finalist for the PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction.[9] It was also positively received by Huffpost,[10] Kirkus Reviews,[11] and Publishers Weekly.[12] In 2018, she was named a National Book Foundation '5 Under 35' honoree.[1][13]

Her second novel, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells, was named a best book of 2022 by The New Yorker and NPR,[14][15] and was received positively by Kirkus Reviews,[16] Publishers Weekly,[17] Vanity Fair[18] and The Washington Post.[19] She teaches fiction at the Columbia University School of the Arts and the Pratt Institute.[20]

Personal life

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Assadi moved to New York City in the mid 2000s,[7] and lives in Brooklyn as of 2022.[21] She is married and has two children.[4] She has said she is spiritual, but is neither Jewish nor Muslim, as "religion doesn't speak to her".[3][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Grisar, PJ (2018-09-24). "The National Book Foundation Names Moriel Rothman-Zecher, Hannah Lillith Assadi In 5 Under 35 Award". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kevane, Bridget (2019-01-02). "The Great Jewish-Palestinian American Novel". Tablet. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  3. ^ a b c Yoked, Tzach (2019-02-25). "The Palestinian-Jewish Author Rocking America's Literary Scene". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  4. ^ a b "Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi". The Andalusia Star-News. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  5. ^ a b O'Malley, JP (2019-04-06). "Traditions and cultures collide in half-Jewish, half-Palestinian writer's novel". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  6. ^ a b Bolton-Fasman, Judy (2019-02-11). "Novelist Hannah Lillith Assadi Embraces Her Jewish and Palestinian Identities". JewishBoston. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  7. ^ a b Hoen, Sean Madigan (2017-05-01). "This Ever-Migrating Curse: Hannah Lillith Assadi with Sean Madigan Hoen". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  8. ^ "2018 Literature Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters". artsandletters.org. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  9. ^ Witkin, Daniel (2017-12-22). "Jessica Cohen, Rebecca Solnit Longlisted For 2018 PEN Literary Awards". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  10. ^ Crum, Maddie (2017-04-04). "A Story Of Friendship And Heartbreak That Definitely Passes The Bechdel Test". HuffPost. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  11. ^ "Sonora". Kirkus Reviews. 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  12. ^ "Sonora by Hannah Lillith Assadi". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  13. ^ "Hannah Lillith Assadi". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  14. ^ "The Best Books of 2022". The New Yorker. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  15. ^ "The Stars Are Not Yet Bells: A Novel". NPR. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  16. ^ "THE STARS ARE NOT YET BELLS". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  17. ^ "The Stars Are Not Yet Bells by Hannah Lillith Assadi". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  18. ^ Weir, Keziah (2022-02-23). "9 Books We Couldn't Put Down This Month". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  19. ^ Meloan, Becky (2021-12-28). "10 noteworthy books for January". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  20. ^ "Hannah Assadi". Pratt Institute. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  21. ^ Hutton, William (2022-01-25). "Hotly Anticipated Second Novel by Hannah Lillith Assadi Out Now". arts.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
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