Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. A recent Pushcart Prize nominee, she was named "New Literary Idol" by New York Magazine. Her work has appeared in The Baltimore Review, Ninth Letter, and 42opus.
Paradiso 17 (2026) Hannah Lillith Assadi "I could not put down this sweeping narrative, written in some of the most transcendent prose I have read in a long time. Compassionate, elegiac and suffuse with unflinching wit, Paradiso 17 is a stunning testament to a people who will never abandon home, no matter how far they must travel in exile."
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (2025) Kiran Desai "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is both epic and intimate. This is a story of two young people, and a story of families and belonging. That Kiran Desai also finds a way to deftly thread unflinching questions about the imagination and creativity through these immersive pages is brilliant evidence of her formidable and incomparable gifts as a writer. What a magnificent achievement, made all the more rare for its compulsive readability. I could not put this book down."
Theft (2025) Abdulrazak Gurnah "Theft is not just a book. It is an entire universe held together by Abdulrazak Gurnah's beautiful, sensitive prose. In the stories of Badar, Fauzia and Karim rest the questions of entire generations confronting a changing world. But Gurnah also manages to do what only the most accomplished of writers can: In these pages, we begin to recognize the generosity that remains even in moments of pain and chaos. We understand the pockets of light that still exist in those most turbulent days. Gurnah has done it again."
Oromay (2025) Baalu Girma "Oromay is an astonishing and compelling tale of revolution and betrayal. It is also the story of Tsegaye - witty, observant, and dedicated - who finds love at the same time as he discovers how dangerous his world really is. Written with breathtaking psychological precision, Baalu Girma's novel is still frighteningly relevant today. Oromay is impossible to put down. As the last book ever written before Baalu Girma disappeared, what you have before you is also an uncompromising testimony to the power of words to outlast regimes. Oromay is a gift to a new generation of readers."
My Friends (2024) Hisham Matar "It is impossible to describe the profound depth and beauty of this book. My Friends is a breathtaking novel, every page a miracle and an affirmation. If there is a language of exile, My Friends is what it sounds like: exquisite and painful, compassionate and unflinching, and, above all, overwhelming in its boundless hope that within exile rests a path toward a different kind of return - one that leads us back to ourselves. Hisham Matar is one of our greatest writers. How lucky we are to be in his midst."
Above the Salt (2023) Katherine Vaz "Katherine Vaz offers us a story of discovery, loss, and the fragile but unwavering bonds of love that endure despite it all. This epic saga confirms her as one of our best writers."
Beyond the Door of No Return (2023) David Diop "Stunningly realized and written in exquisite prose, Beyond the Door of No Return is a love story, an adventure tale, and an unflinching examination of the unexpected ways that colonialism and greed ravaged everyone it touched, European and African. It is above all else, a spellbinding novel about the high price of betrayal-of others, and oneself."
Hangman (2023) Maya Binyam "Hangman is a gripping story of homecoming and loss, of recuperation and letting go, all of it told in a voice that is at turns ruthlessly honest and startlingly beautiful. Maya Binyam is an immensely gifted writer and every page of this deeply moving novel offers us compelling and hard-earned truths. But what remains by the end is something that resembles a loving gesture from a long-lost relative: necessary and seismic, profound and unforgettable."
Whites Can Dance Too (2023) Kalaf Epalanga "Both a manifesto and a love story . . . Electrifying . . . What you will find is a story so compelling and visceral that it has the power to move your heart and remind you that the only real borders are the ones we set around ourselves."
The History of a Difficult Child (2023) Mihret Sibhat "The History of a Difficult Child is an extraordinary novel. It is at once a story of a sharp-witted young girl trying to hold herself together during political upheaval, and an achingly tender tale of community, family, grief and forgiveness. Its most striking achievement, however, rests in young Selam's insistence that rebelliousness and nonconformity might, after all, be the greatest expressions of love."
The Color Line (2022) Igiaba Scego "Powerful, provocative, and unflinching, The Color Line might be Igiaba Scego's best book yet--and that would be no small feat. In this strikingly lucid and compassionate novel, Igiaba uses her formidable talents to remind us that the so-called forgotten histories of Black women cannot be silenced forever. The Color Line is a love story, and it is an ode to sisterhood. It is also a testament to the possibilities of liberation that rest in every act against injustice, and in every moment of artistic creation."
Brother Alive (2022) Zain Khalid "Zain Khalid's imagination and talent are a marvel to behold in these pages. Brother Alive bristles with a kinetic, hypnotic energy that also manages to ask profound questions about love, faith, family, and loyalty. Hallucinatory and electrifying, Brother Alive announces the arrival of a writer with an impassioned and fearless vision."
A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times (2022) Meron Hadero "This book heralds the arrival of a gifted, stunning writer. A Down Home Meal for These Difficult Times held me spellbound, riveted to the compelling characters that walk through these pages, all of them guided by Meron's revelatory and generous examinations of belonging and displacement. These stories unfold with an intensifying power, each of them a testament to what's possible when we move through this world insisting on the potential of hope, and love.-"
The Return of Faraz Ali (2022) Aamina Ahmad "The Return of Faraz Ali heralds the arrival of a strikingly accomplished and mature talent. Ahmad has managed to meld fast-paced, intelligent noir with a devastating portrait of the true costs of ambition and desire. Does not let you go, even after the end."
The Human Zoo (2021) Sabina Murray "The Human Zoo unfolds like the best of stories—one compelling detail following the next until an entire world emerges, full of revelations and aching truths. Murray has given us a powerful page-turner full of wry humor and shattering wisdom about love, family, the meaning of home, and history. This novel pulses with that most difficult of urgent truths: running away only leads us back to ourselves but that might be exactly what saves us in the end."
Infinite Country (2021) Patricia Engel "Powerful and poignant, Infinite Country crystallizes the questions we are asking today about migration, family, and our vision of the future. Patricia Engel has written a memorable and brutally honest response to the simplistic notion of what constitutes the American Dream."
In the Company of Men (2021) Véronique Tadjo "Véronique Tadjo’s In the Company of Men is more than a story about Ebola. This novel, elegiac and sorrowful, is also an affirmation of the cycle of life and nature’s important place in it. What do the living owe to the dead? What do they owe to the earth, which both protects and punishes? Tadjo offers us her powerful, luminous answers in this book."
The First Woman (2020) Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi "The First Woman is captivating, wise, humorous and tender: Makumbi has come back stronger than ever. This is a tale about Kirabo and her family, and her place in the world as she searches for her mother and a true sense of belonging. But most of all, this is a book about the stories that define us, and those we tell to redefine ourselves. A riveting read."
