Teenage Expert

I remember seeing a profile in Le Monde of Aziz Ridouan, the French-Moroccan high school student and founder of Audionautes, an NGO that provides legal assistance to those accused of illegally downloading music. Nice to see the NYT catching up. My favorite lines in the profile:

Mr. Ridouan, who intends to study political science in college, said his Audionautes-financed lobbying did not hurt his studies. He has missed some school but has a note from the French interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, excusing him from class when he meets with government officials.

“There’s no need for me to fake notes to skip class ever since I got Sarkozy’s written permission,” said Mr. Ridouan. “I don’t even have the note anymore because my teacher wanted to keep it as a souvenir.”

More here.

Who is Laila Lalami

Laila Lalami is the award winning and best selling author of six books.

What books has Laila Lalami written?

Laila has written the novels, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Secret Son, The Moor's Account, The Other Americans, and The Dream Hotel.

What awards has Laila Lalami won?

Laila Lalami has won the American Book Award, the Arab American Book Award, the Hurston-Write Legacy Award, a Guggenheim a Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship, and a British Council Fellowship. Her work has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Booker Prize, the Women's Prize, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award.