Hisham Matar was born in New York City in 1970 to Libyan parents, and spent his childhood first in Tripoli, then in Cairo. He has lived in London since 1986. His first novel, In The Country of Men (Viking, 2006), was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize and The Guardian First Book Award and translated into 22 languages. Hisham’s essays have appeared in The Independent and The Guardian. He is currently working on his second novel.

Photograph by Diana Matar.