"Country of Origin" in conversation with author, Dalia Azim
Our virtual series of book talks features Arab authors to showcase some of the breadth and diversity in Arab fiction writing. We invite you to connect with the authors as they delve into a riveting discussion of the sociocultural, literary, and personal factors that shape their storytelling.
Seventeen-year-old Halah Ibrahim has always known a privileged life and never had cause to question it until Cairo goes up in flames. Not only does she start to doubt her father and his role in the new military-backed government―but she ultimately decides to flee to America with a young soldier she hardly knows, an impulsive act that has far-reaching consequences on both sides of the ocean. A powerful and universal debut novel about family, identity, and independence, Country of Origin is as much about a nation's coming-of-age as it is about secrets and lies, love and truth.
Dalia Azim was born in Canada and raised in the United States. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, American Short Fiction, Aperture, Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, Glimmer Train (where she received their Short Story Award for New Writers), and Other Voices, among other places. Country of Origin is her first novel. Dalia lives in Austin, Texas with her family and is the manager of special projects at the Blanton Museum of Art.
https://www.daliaazim.com/
Ladane Nasseri is a journalist, writer and nonfiction instructor. Raised between Paris and Tehran, Ladane completed her bachelors in London and Marseilles. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Master of Fine Arts in literary nonfiction from The New School in New York. She is fluent in Persian, French and English.
Ladane’s reporting has appeared in international outlets including The New York Times, The LA Times, Businessweek, Newsweek, The Nation, WNYC public radio, PBS Frontline, U.K.’s Telegraph, France’s Libération and many others.
https://www.ladanenasseri.com/