Leila Mottley: 'There’s never a wrong age to tell the story that is aching inside of you'
Leila Mottley talks about the true story that inspired Nightcrawling, helping young people to start reading again and trying to be a normal teenager
Nightcrawling was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. At once agonising and mesmerising, Nightcrawling presents a haunting vision of marginalised young people navigating the darkest corners of an adult world.
‘When there is no choice, all you have left to do is walk.’
Determined to survive in a world that refuses to protect her, a 17-year-old girl finds herself walking the mean streets of Oakland after dark. When she is picked up by the police, the gruesome deal they offer in exchange for her freedom lands her at the centre of a media storm - and facing a terrible choice.
If she agrees to testify, she could help expose the corruption of a police department. But honesty comes at a price - one that could leave her family vulnerable to retaliation, and endanger everyone she loves.
Leila Mottley
About the Author
Leila Mottley was born in 2003 in Oakland, California, where she still lives and works. Nightcrawling, her debut novel, was nominated for the 2022 Booker Prize.Nightcrawling is a dazzling and electrifying novel set in the streets of Oakland, where the protagonist Kiara will face a justice system that oppresses young black women. A spellbinding story and a Catcher in the Rye for a new generation.
— The 2022 judges on Nightcrawling
