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Omar El Akkad

Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist. He was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager and now lives in the United States. The start of his journalism career coincided with the start of the war on terror, and over the following decade he reported from Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and many other locations around the world. His fiction and non-fiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Guernica, GQ and many other newspapers and magazines. His debut novel, American War, is an international bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages. His short story “Government Slots” was selected for the Best Canadian Stories 2020 anthology. His new novel, What Strange Paradise, is out now with McClelland & Stewart.

    Latest from Omar El Akkad

    Where I Write

    Omar El Akkad's 'Little House' in the woods is the perfect place to write in peace and quiet

    Set away from the "organic chaos" of family life, the author writes to the sounds of nature.
    Where I Write

    Omar El Akkad often dreams of writing at a 'fine mahogany desk,' but he loves his space

    The Canada Reads author shares the story behind where he wrote his first novel American War.