News
I’ve been immersed in my new novel for the past several months, and neglected to update this website, but I did manage to publish a few shorter pieces that some of you may find interesting. For the New York Times Magazine, I wrote about borders and walls in April, and about immigrants and assimilation in August. For The Nation, I wrote about the Senate’s failed health care bill, the narrative around mass shootings in America, and the need to push back against partisanship in the recent sexual assault scandals. Other than that, I’ve been trying, like so many of you, to find ways to deal with the onslaught of terrible news and to push back in whatever way I can. Take good care, all. Come say hi to me sometime.
Friends, I’m thrilled to share with you the news that my new novel, The Other Americans, about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant in a small California town, told through multiple narrators, including his daughter, his wife, a witness, a veteran of the Iraq war, and the dead man himself, will be published by Pantheon Books. This will be followed by Conditional Citizens, a book of nonfiction tracing the relationship of America with its Muslims, using the lenses of literature, history, and politics. (I don’t have release dates yet, but I’m very excited for you to read them when they’re ready.)
Until then, perhaps you might be interested in my shorter pieces. Some of my recent columns for The Nation include a plea to save the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, a discussion of executive orders that target people of color, and a reflection on the importance of civic engagement. I also wrote an essay for the L.A. Times about balancing public and private lives, and reviewed Joan Didion’s South and West for the New York Times. Happy Spring!
Photo: Willow Hole Trail, Joshua Tree.
I spent the holiday season holed up in a cabin in Sun Valley, Idaho, trying to get some rest and catch up on sleep. I’ve been struggling with insomnia for a while now, and my schedule hasn’t helped: in the last six months, I traveled to Palestine and Israel for a literary festival; gave talks in North Carolina, Washington, DC, and upstate New York; taught fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference; and took part in the Aké Fest in Abeokuta, Nigeria. I’ve also written my regular column for The Nation and contributed essays to the Los Angeles Times on literature and to The New York Times Magazine on identity politics. But the insomnia has also given me hours and hours and hours in which to think about my new novel. I’m fairly obsessed with it, with its characters and their troubles, so I love spending time in their company. Still, the sleeplessness hasn’t been great for my health and, given what the Trump presidency is sure to bring on the political and social level, I’m determined to adopt a better routine in order to be better prepared for the fight that lies ahead.
What a busy spring this turned out to be. For the last two months, I’ve been working and traveling almost constantly. But somehow I’m making steady progress on my new novel. I’ve also written several columns for The Nation, on subjects such as the Cologne attacks, cries of political correctness, and the rise of the far right amid fears of change. In March, I joined the L.A. Times Book Review as one of its ten critics-at-large. And last month I found out that I was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. I can’t wait for summer, when I’ll have more time (to work some more!)
Photo: Spring flowers in Joshua Tree.
I spent the last twelve weeks working on my new novel and reading manuscripts for literary prizes I’m judging. But I’m about to hit the road again, with appearances in Portland, Bend, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Ann Arbor, Rochester, New York, and elsewhere. Details are posted on the Events page.
I’m also thrilled to share with you the news that I’m joining The Nation as a columnist this year. The official announcement is here. And here is my first column, a reflection on what Trump means for the country, especially for two communities rarely talked about in the same breath: Muslims and veterans. Here is how the column begins:
Whether Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination, no one can tell—but what’s already clear is that he’s brought fascism back into the mainstream. At his rallies, Trump promises to make America great again by pouring scorn on women, Mexicans, African Americans, Asians, immigrants, LGBT people, the disabled, his opponents, and reporters who dare to criticize him. Every time he comes up with a new insult, his supporters whoop and cheer, seemingly confident in the belief that they are not now, nor would they ever become, one of his targets. Lately, he has taken to picking out individual protesters—a Black Lives Matter activist, a Muslim woman, a Sikh man—and offering them up to the jeering crowd, before having security escort them out. The message is unmistakable: There is no room at these gatherings for anyone who isn’t white and Christian. A Trump rally is nothing more than a hate-in.
In other news, Lionsgate optioned The Moor’s Account for a TV series. (Very exciting!) I will, of course, post updates when I have them. The novel has also been selected for the March 2016 Book of the Month Club. You can watch Craig Ferguson recommend it on a video on their website.