Maaza Mengiste is an Ethiopian American author, celebrated for her literary fiction and essays. She was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1974, but had to leave the country at the age of four. Mengiste then lived in Nigeria and Kenya before moving to the United States. She pursued her higher education in the US, attending New York University and earning her Creative Writing MFA. She has since proven to be a distinguished scholar, receiving a Fulbright Scholarship, being nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and having her work featured in various prestigious publications such as The Granta Anthology of the African Short Story, The New York Times, and the Callaloo Journal.
"Beneath the Lion’s Gaze," Mengiste's debut novel, was a critical and commercial success, appearing on several Best of 2010 lists including the Christian Science Monitor and Publishers Weekly. It has been translated into multiple languages and solidified her reputation as a talented writer. In addition to her literary work, Mengiste has contributed to various documentaries, including "The Invisible City: Kakuma," which explores a refugee camp in the Kenyan desert, and "Girl Rising," a film about nine girls striving for security and education worldwide. The latter is part of the global action campaign "Girl Rising Project" and features the voices of notable actors such as Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, and Meryl Streep.
Mengiste is also the author of "The Shadow King," which was longlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, a finalist for the LA Times Books Prize, and recognized as a Best Book of 2019 by various publications including the New York Times, NPR, and Time. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Granta, the Guardian, the New York Times, BBC Radio, and Lettre International, among other places. She has received fellowships from the Emily Harvey Foundation, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and Yaddo. Mengiste is currently a Creative Writing teacher at Princeton and serves on the boards of Warscapes and Words Without Borders.
In summary, Maaza Mengiste is an accomplished Ethiopian American author and essayist, best known for her novels "Beneath the Lion’s Gaze" and "The Shadow King." Her work has been widely recognized and featured in numerous prestigious publications. Mengiste is also committed to social activism and has contributed to documentaries aimed at raising awareness for important causes. She continues to teach and inspire future writers while serving on the boards of Warscapes and Words Without Borders.