About

I am a British-US writer based in Paris, where I moved after several years in the Middle East. My academic background is literature and history, and my interests as a writer focus on the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, the interactions between East and West, and - more recently - France.

As a storyteller, I am primarily interested in bringing forgotten narratives, particularly those of women, into the public eye.

In my work as a writer - across fiction, history, tv, and journalism - I aim to combine literary sensitivity with rigorous research to offer my accurate glimpses of unfamiliar people, worlds and moments. I am the recipient of the 2024 Somerset Maugham Award, and also of the CNC Coco-i grant, which I was awarded along with my cowriters for a tv series set between Lebanon and France. My work as a journalist has featured in the Economist, the Times, The Spectator, Engelsberg Ideas, Air Mail, Marie Claire and British Vogue, among others.

I was born and raised in London but now divide my time between Paris and London. I hold MA degrees in literature and history from Oxford University and UCL. When I am not writing, I consult and write on Middle Eastern topics for various UN agencies, and look after rescue dogs.