Maaza Mengiste is the author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize and named a Best Book of 2019 by the New York Times, NPR, Time, Elle, and other publications. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, her debut, was selected by the Guardian as one of the ten best contemporary African books. Mengiste is a recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature as well as fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Capital, DAAD Artists in Berlin program, the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, and the Fulbright Scholar program, among others.