Wikipedia

Isabella Hammad

Isabella Mariam S. Hammad (born 1990/91) is a British-Palestinian author.[2] In 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list.

Isabella Hammad
Born1990/91[1]
Hammersmith, London, England
Alma mater
Years active2019–present
Notable workThe Parisian (2019);
Enter Ghost (2023)

Biography

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Hammad grew up in Acton, West London.[3][4][5] Her Palestinian father, whose family were from Nablus, had previously lived in Lebanon.[6] Hammad studied English at the University of Oxford.[7] After undertaking a literature fellowship at Harvard University, she went on to complete a creative writing MFA at New York University.[8]

Awards and honours

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In 2019, Hammad was a National Book Foundation's "5 Under 35" honoree.[4][9][10] The same year, The New York Times named her debut novel, The Parisian, one of the Notable Books of the year,[11] and The Guardian included Hammad on their list of the year's "writers of exceptional first novels".[8]

The Guardian described her second book, Enter Ghost, as being "a story of Palestine, driven by questions of identity and belonging."[12] It was shortlisted for the 2024 Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to celebrate the "difficult second novel" that follows an author's literary debut,[13] going on to be chosen as the winner.[14]

In 2020, Hammad received a Lannan Foundation Literary Fellowship,[11] and in 2023, she was included on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.[15][16]

She has also received a Gerald Freund Fellowship from MacDowell and an Axinn Foundation Fellowship from New York University.[11] She was a speaker at the Palestine Writes Literature Festival[17] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 22 September 2023. She delivered the Edward Said Memorial Lecture, entitled "Recognizing the Stranger", at Columbia University at the end of September 2023.[18]

She was elected a 2024–2025 Cullman Center Fellow at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.[19]

Awards for Hammad's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2018 “Mr. Can’aan” Plimpton Prize for Fiction Won [4]
2019 O. Henry Prize for Short Story Won [4]
The Parisian Palestine Book Award Won [20][8]
2020 Betty Trask Award Won [11]
Chautauqua Prize Shortlisted [21]
Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction Won [20][22]
Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction Shortlisted [23]
2024 Enter Ghost Aspen Words Literary Prize Won [24]
Royal Society of Literature Encore Award Won [25]

Books

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  • The Parisian (Jonathan Cape, December 2019)[26][27][28][29]
  • Enter Ghost (Grove Press, April 2023)[30][31]
  • Recognizing the Stranger: On Palestine and Narrative (Grove Press, September 2024)

References

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  1. ^ Cummins, Anthony (21 September 2024). "Isabella Hammad: 'I heard Edward Said speak when I was seven'". Retrieved 17 October 2024. "Isabella Hammad, 33, was born in London to a Palestinian father and British-Irish mother."
  2. ^ Khatib, Joumana (4 April 2019). "A Debut Novelist Explores Her Family's History, and Palestine's". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  3. ^ Tivnan, Tom (1 February 2019). "Isabella Hammad - 'I think it's best to take the hype with a pinch of salt'". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Isabella Hammad". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. ^ Handel, Nathalie (7 May 2019). ""The Parisian" Weaves Family Stories and Palestinian History Into a Debut Novel". Electric Lit. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. ^ Shotter, James (19 January 2024). "Writer Isabella Hammad: 'It's hard to know where we're going, but it doesn't look good'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  7. ^ Handel, Nathalie (7 May 2019). ""The Parisian" Weaves Family Stories and Palestinian History Into a Debut Novel". Electric Lit. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "Meet the hottest-tipped debut novelists of 2019". The Observer. 13 January 2019. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  9. ^ Andrews, Meredith (11 November 2019). "Jeremy O. Harris to Host 2019 5 Under 35 Celebration". National Book Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  10. ^ "National Book Foundation: '5 Under 35'". Shelf Awareness. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d "Isabella Hammad". Lannan Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  12. ^ Jones, Sadie (29 March 2023). "Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – Hamlet in Palestine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  13. ^ Spanoudi, Melina (30 May 2024). "Novels by Isabella Hammad and Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ vying for the 10k Encore Award". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  14. ^ Wood, Heloise (19 June 2024). "Isabella Hammad wins boosted RSL Encore Award, now worth £15k". The Bookseller. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  15. ^ Razzall, Katie (13 April 2023). "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  16. ^ "Granta Names 'Best of Young British Novelists'". Shelf Awareness. 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  17. ^ "Palestine Writes – فلسطين تكتب". Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  18. ^ Hammad, Isabella (27 October 2023). "Recognizing the Stranger". The Paris Review. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  19. ^ Allen, Brittany (23 April 2024). "Please welcome the 2024-25 class of Cullman fellows". Literary Hub. Archived from the original on 23 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Isabella Hammad". Brown University, Literary Arts Program. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  21. ^ Steves, Jordan (8 May 2020). "Seven Finalists Named for 2020 Chautauqua Prize". Chautauqua Institution. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  22. ^ "American Academy of Arts & Letters Selects Valeria Luiselli & Isabella Hammad as the 2020 Literature Award Winners". RCW Literary Agency. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  23. ^ "Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 1 April 2020. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  24. ^ Schaub, Michael (26 April 2024). "Winnner of the Aspen Words Literary Prize Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Hammad wins 2024 RSL Encore Award". Books+Publishing. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  26. ^ Benfey, Christopher (12 April 2019). "A Novel Whose Hero Is a Man Divided, as Is His Native Palestine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  27. ^ Thomas-Corr, Johanna (15 April 2019). "The Parisian by Isabella Hammad review – Middlemarch with minarets". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  28. ^ Khatib, Joumana (4 April 2019). "A Debut Novelist Explores Her Family's History, and Palestine's". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  29. ^ Moharram, Jehanne (Winter 2020). "The Parisian by Isabella Hammad". World Literature Today. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  30. ^ Williams, Holly (28 March 2023). "Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – drama in the West Bank". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  31. ^ Jones, Sadie (29 March 2023). "Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad review – Hamlet in Palestine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
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