Alia Malek
{{short description|American journalist, writer and lawyer (born 1974)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alia Malek
| image = Alia Malek 120408.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|12|29}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Journalist, lawyer, writer
| years_active = 2000–present
| known_for = literary and nonfiction writing about Syria
| notable_works = The Home That Was Our Country (memoir)
}}
Alia Malek (born December 29, 1974) is an American writer, journalist and lawyer.
Early life and career
Malek was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1974. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Syria. Malek graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1996.{{cite news|last1=Snyder|first1=Julie|title=Alumni Notes|url=http://pages.jh.edu/jhumag/0299web/alumnote.html|work=Johns Hopkins Magazine|date=February 1999}} She then earned a J.D. degree at Georgetown University Law Center. She worked as a civil rights lawyer at the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and later went back to school to obtain a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University."Alia Malek." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2010. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000198422/BIC?u=lom_umichdearb&sid=summon&xid=44ca945e. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.
She published her first book in 2009, A Country Called Amreeka. From 2011 to 2013, she lived in Damascus, Syria. Her memoir The Home That Was Our Country is based on this period.{{cite news|last1=Tcacik|first1=Christina|title=Baltimore native Alia Malek endures war-torn Syria to tell of 'Home That Was Our Country'|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-alia-malek-20170303-story.html|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=March 10, 2017}} She also worked as a senior writer for Al Jazeera America.{{cite news|last1=Spalding|first1=Emily|title=Q&A: Alia Malek, reporter and civil rights lawyer|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2016/11/qa-alia-malek-reporter-and-civil-rights-lawyer|work=The Daily Princetonian|date=November 21, 2016}} Her stories have appeared in publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times{{Cite news |last=Malek |first=Alia |date=2025-01-26 |title=Opinion {{!}} What Did the World Learn From Syria? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/26/opinion/syria-assad.html |access-date=2025-02-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} and The Nation.
Awards
- 2016 – Hiett Prize{{cite news|last1=Granberry|first1=Michael|title=Syrian-American author Alia Malek captures Dallas' $50,000 Hiett Prize in the Humanities|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2016/10/07/syrian-american-author-alia-malek-captures-dallas-50000-hiett-prize-humanities|work=Dallas Morning News|date=November 7, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2016/10/07/syrian-american-author-alia-malek-captures-dallas-50000-hiett-prize-humanities|title=Syrian-American author Alia Malek captures Dallas' $50,000 Hiett Prize in the Humanities|date=2016-10-07|work=Dallas News|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en}}
Works
- A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories New York: Free Press, 2009. {{ISBN|9781416592686}}, {{OCLC|297405959}}
- (editor) Patriot Acts: Narratives of Post-9/11 Injustice San Francisco, Calif. McSweeneys Books 2011. {{ISBN|9781936365371}}, {{OCLC|838115917}}
- The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria New York, NY: Nation Books, 2017. {{ISBN|9781568585321}}, {{OCLC|961457621}}{{Cite news|url=http://theaerogram.com/alia-malek-thtwoc/|title=The Home That Was Our Country, A Personal & Political Memoir of Syria - The Aerogram|date=2018-02-20|work=The Aerogram|access-date=2018-02-22|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/arts/bs-ae-alia-malek-20170303-story.html|title=Baltimore native Alia Malek endures war-torn Syria to tell of 'Home That Was Our Country'|last=Tkacik|first=Christina|work=baltimoresun.com|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.king5.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/new-day-northwest/the-home-that-was-our-country-a-memoir-of-syria/491410521|title=The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria|work=KING|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/26/517305312/new-book-focuses-on-the-humanity-of-syria-lost-in-the-war|title=New Book Focuses On The 'Humanity Of Syria' Lost In The War|work=NPR.org|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.madamasr.com/en/2017/06/07/feature/culture/the-pain-of-losing-syria-on-alia-maleks-the-home-that-was-our-country/|title=The pain of losing Syria: On Alia Malek's The Home That Was Our Country|work=Mada Masr|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/book-review-alia-malek-s-the-home-that-was-our-country-mirrors-the-tragedy-of-syria-1.89125|title=Book review: Alia Malek's The Home That Was Our Country mirrors the tragedy of Syria|work=The National|access-date=2018-02-23|language=en}}
- {{Cite book |editor2-first=Dave |editor2-last=Bullwinkel |editor-last3=Bullwinkel |editor3-first=Rita |title=Aftershocks. Contemporary Syrian Prose |publisher=McSweeney's |place=San Francisco |publication-date=2024-12-12 |isbn=978-1963270044 |editor-last=Malek |editor-first=Alia |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{twitter}}
- {{C-SPAN|9266503}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malek, Alia}}
Category:American civil rights lawyers
Category:American women lawyers
Category:American women journalists
Category:American people of Syrian descent
Category:Johns Hopkins University alumni
Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Category:Lawyers from Baltimore