Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is the author of The Shadow King and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze.

She is a Fulbright Scholar and professor in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literary Translation programme at Queens College Her work can be found in the New Yorker, Granta, and the New York Times, among other publications. She lives in New York City.

All nominated books

The Shadow King