Hisham Matar is an award–winning American author. Born in New York City to Libyan parents, Matar spent his childhood in Tripoli and Cairo and has lived most of his adult life in London. His memoir, The Return, won the Pulitzer Prize, and his debut novel, In the Country of Men, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Matar's other books include Anatomy of Disappearance, My Friends, A Month in Siena and The Wedding of Zein. His work has been translated into twenty–nine languages. He spends his time between London and New York.