Hannah Lillith Assadi (born 1985 or 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

Assadi was born to a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father.[2] Her father (d. 2022) was born in Safed in 1943, and fled with his family during the Nakba, living first in Syria and later in Kuwait.[2] 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] When she was 18, Assadi visited Israel on a Birthright trip.[5]

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

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]

Her debut novel, Sonora, was published in 2017. It 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

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

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kevane, Bridget (2019-01-02). "The Great Jewish-Palestinian American Novel". Tablet. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  3. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 "Sami Abdul Fattah Assadi". The Andalusia Star-News. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  5. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 Bolton-Fasman, Judy (2019-02-11). "Novelist Hannah Lillith Assadi Embraces Her Jewish and Palestinian Identities". JewishBoston. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  7. 1 2 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". www.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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