Rabih Alameddine

Rabih Alameddine is an award-winning American writer and painter known for his literary explorations of identity, displacement, and the complexities of the Middle East. Born in Amman, Jordan to Lebanese Druze parents, he grew up in Kuwait and Lebanon before relocating to the United States for his education. His 2021 novel "The Wrong End of the Telescope" won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, adding to a distinguished list of accolades that includes the Faulkner/PEN Award, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, and the Arab American Book Award. He has also been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002.

Alameddine’s works often blend queer narratives with themes of war, migration, and cultural memory. His debut novel, "Koolaids: Or The Art of War" (1998), intertwines the AIDS crisis in San Francisco with the Lebanese Civil War, establishing his reputation for bold, intersectional storytelling. He is perhaps best known for "An Unnecessary Woman," which earned the California Book Awards Gold Medal for Fiction and follows a reclusive Lebanese translator navigating life in war-torn Beirut. His writing merges a sharp, lyrical prose style with deep psychological insight, offering nuanced perspectives on Middle Eastern and immigrant experiences.

Dividing his time between San Francisco and Beirut, Alameddine continues to write and exhibit his paintings internationally. His recent works, including "The Angel of History" and "The Wrong End of the Telescope," further cement his status as a vital voice in contemporary literature, bridging cultures and challenging conventional narratives.