Ayad Akhtar
{{Short description|American actor and playwright}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ayad Akhtar
| image = Ayad akhtar 2012.jpg
| caption = Akhtar at the 2012 Texas Book Festival
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|10|28}}
| birth_place = Staten Island, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = Brown University (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
| occupation = Playwright, novelist, screenwriter
| years_active = 2002–present
| notable_works = American Dervish (2012)
Disgraced (2012)
Junk (2016)
Homeland Elegies (2020)
| awards = Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Award in Literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Steinberg Playwright Award
| website = {{URL|ayadakhtar.com}}
}}
Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is an American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. He has received numerous accolades including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as nominations for two Tony Awards.
Akhtar is known as a playwright covering various themes including the American-Muslim experience, racism, religion, economics, immigration, and identity. For his work on Broadway, Akhtar received Tony Award for Best Play nominations for Disgraced (2015) and Junk (2017). He also authored the plays The Who & The What, The Invisible Hand and McNeal. His plays have been produced on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in London.
He earned acclaim for authoring two novels American Dervish (2012) and Homeland Elegies (2020). He received numerous awards including the American Book Award for the later. He co-wrote and starred in the political drama film The War Within (2005) for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay. He portrayed Neel Kashkari in the HBO television film Too Big to Fail (2010).
Early life and education
Akhtar was born in Staten Island, New York City to Pakistani parents, and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His interest in literature was initially sparked in high school.{{Cite web|url=https://observer.com/2014/07/ayad-akhtar-taps-into-an-ancient-conflict-in-the-who-and-the-what/|title=Ayad Akhtar Taps Into an Ancient Conflict in 'The Who and the What'|last=Haun|first=Harry|date=July 17, 2014|website=observer.com|access-date=2016-05-02}} Akhtar attended Brown University, where he majored in theater and religion and began acting and directing student plays.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/theater/taking-on-wall-streets-church-of-big-money.html|title=Plunging His Pen Into the Dark Heart of 1980s Wall Street|last=Sokolove|first=Michael|date=2017-09-06|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-20|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
After graduation he moved to Italy to work with Jerzy Grotowski, eventually becoming his assistant.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=23608|title=Annie Wagner Talks to Ayad Akhtar and Tom Glynn|last=Wagner|first=Annie|date=October 19, 2005|work=The Stranger|access-date=May 31, 2011}} Upon returning to the United States, Akhtar taught acting alongside Andre Gregory and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in film directing from Columbia University School of the Arts.[http://www.acttheatre.org/Downloads/AyadAkhtarInterview.pdf "An Interview with Ayad Akhtar; A Conversation Between Playwright Ayad Akhtar and Anita Montgomery"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503181116/http://www.acttheatre.org/Downloads/AyadAkhtarInterview.pdf |date=May 3, 2015 }} ACT Webpage
Career
In 2012, Akhtar published his first novel American Dervish, a coming-of-age story about a Pakistani-American boy growing up in Milwaukee. The book was met with critical acclaim, described by The New York Times as "self-assured and effortlessly told."{{Cite web |first=Adam |last=Langer |url=https://www.nytimes.com:80/2012/01/05/books/american-dervish-by-ayad-akhtar-review.html? |title=Stumbling Through an American Muslim Maze |work=The New York Times |date=2012-04-12 |access-date=2016-05-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112205914/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/books/american-dervish-by-ayad-akhtar-review.html |archive-date=January 12, 2012}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203462304577138582345335176|title='Dervish' Whirls Into Publishing World |last=Alter|first=Alexandra|website=Wall Street Journal |date=January 6, 2012 |access-date=2016-05-02}} American Dervish has been published in over 20 languages and was a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Akhtar's narration of the audio book was nominated for an Audie Award in 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2013-audies|title=2013 Audie Awards® - APA|website=www.audiopub.org|access-date=2019-10-08|archive-date=September 20, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173322/https://www.audiopub.org/winners/2013-audies|url-status=dead}}
Akhtar's first produced play, Disgraced, premiered in 2012 at the American Theater Company in Chicago; it was next staged at Lincoln Center Theater in New York.{{Cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-31/entertainment/ct-ent-0201-disgraced-review-20120131_1_american-dervish-ayad-akhtar-american-theater-company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417124705/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-31/entertainment/ct-ent-0201-disgraced-review-20120131_1_american-dervish-ayad-akhtar-american-theater-company|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 17, 2013|title=Review: 'Disgraced' at American Theater Company|website=tribunedigital-chicagotribune|date=January 31, 2012 |access-date=2016-05-02}}{{cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/theaterloop/ct-ent-0201-disgraced-review-20120131,0,3881150.column|title=Tolerance is no easy out in riveting 'Disgraced'|last=Jones|first=Chris|date=Jan 21, 2012|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}} The play won the Obie Award and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and premiered at the Bush Theatre in London that spring.{{cite news|url=http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2013-Drama|title=The 2013 Pulitzer Prize Winners}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bushtheatre.co.uk/event/disgraced/|title=Disgraced|website=www.bushtheatre.co.uk|access-date=2016-05-02}} The play opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on October 23, 2014, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play.{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/production/disgraced-lyceum-theatre-vault-0000014067|title=Disgraced @ Lyceum Theatre {{!}} Playbill|website=Playbill|access-date=2016-05-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/legit/awards/tony-nominations-2015-full-list-tony-award-nominees-1201480979/|title=Tony Nominations 2015: Full List|author=|date=2015-04-28|website=Variety|language=en-US|access-date=2016-05-02}}
Akhtar's second play, The Who & The What, premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in February 2014,{{Cite web|url=http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/about-the-playhouse/playhouse-highlights/production-history#date-2012|title=Production History|website=www.lajollaplayhouse.org|access-date=2016-05-02}} followed by a run at Lincoln Center Theater in June. The Who & The What has since been produced around the world with notable productions in Berlin, Hamburg, and the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/theater/ayad-akhtars-plays-in-europe.html|title=Ayad Akhtar Gets a European Welcome, With Conditions|last=Goldmann|first=A. J.|date=2018-06-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-08|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} The latter production has run for almost two years. Its lead, Austrian film star Peter Simonischek, won the Nestroy Award for Best Actor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nestroypreis.at/|title=Nestroypreis Der Wiener Theaterpreis - Die Gewinner 2018|website=www.nestroypreis.at|access-date=2019-10-07}}
Akhtar's third play The Invisible Hand premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in December 2014,{{Cite web|url=http://www.nytw.org/show/the-invisible-hand/|title=The Invisible Hand|website=New York Theatre Workshop|access-date=2016-05-02}} a production which invited comparison to the work of Shaw, Brecht, and Arthur Miller.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-invisible-hand-theater-review-its-margin-call-set-inside-a-pakistani-bunker/|title='The Invisible Hand' Theater Review: It's 'Margin Call' Set Inside a Pakistani Bunker|date=2014-12-09|website=TheWrap|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-07}} It won the Obie Award, the John Gassner Award, and was nominated for multiple Lucille Lortel Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. In May 2016, the play premiered in London at The Tricycle Theatre and received nominations for the Evening Standard and Laurence Olivier awards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2017/olivier-awards-2017-nominations-full/|title=Olivier Awards 2017: the nominations in full|last=Bano|first=Tim|date=2017-03-06|website=The Stage|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-08}}
In 2016, American Theatre magazine declared Akhtar the most produced playwright in the country.{{Cite web|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2015/09/16/the-top-10-most-produced-plays-of-the-2015-16-season/|title=The Top 10 Most-Produced Plays of the 2015–16 Season|date=2015-09-16|website=American Theatre|access-date=2016-05-02}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2015/09/15/the-top-20-most-produced-playwrights-of-the-2015-16-season/|title=The Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights of the 2015--16 Season|date=2015-09-15|website=American Theatre|access-date=2016-05-02}}
Akhtar's fourth play, Junk, premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, on November 2, 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/business/junk-milken-akhtar.html|title='Junk' Mines the Milken Era for Truths That Resonate Now|last=Stewart|first=James B.|date=2017-11-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-19|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play and was awarded the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama.{{Cite web|url=https://kennedyprize.columbia.edu/2018-akhtar|title=2018 – Junk by Ayad Akhtar|last=Libraries|first=Columbia University|date=2017-04-07|website=Edward M. Kennedy|language=en|access-date=2019-10-07}} In his final interview Bill Moyers referred to Junk as "not only history but prophecy. A Biblical-like account of who's running America, and how." Moyers added: "Our times at last have found their voice, and it belongs to a Pakistani American: Ayad Akhtar."{{Cite web|url=https://billmoyers.com/story/everything-thats-tied-coming-loose/|title=Bill Moyers and 'Junk' Playwright Ayad Akhtar on How Wall Street Won|website=BillMoyers.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-07}}
In 2017, Akhtar won the Steinberg Playwright Award.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/theater/ayad-akhtar-lucas-hnath-steinberg-awards.html|title=Ayad Akhtar and Lucas Hnath Win Steinberg Awards|last=Chow|first=Andrew R.|date=2017-09-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} In his acceptance speech at Lincoln Center Theater, later published in The New York Times, he explained why he believes the theater is more important now than it ever has been:
The theater is an art form scaled to the human, and stubbornly so, relying on the absolute necessity of physical audience, a large part of why theater is so difficult to monetize. It only happens when and where it happens. Once it starts, you can't stop it. It doesn't exist to be paused or pulled out at the consumer's whim. It can't be copied and sold. In a world increasingly lost to virtuality and unreality — the theater points to an antidote. [...] The act of gathering to witness the myths of our alleged origins enacted — this is the root of the theater's timeless magic.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/theater/ayad-akhtar-steinberg-award-digital-dehumanization-live-theater.html|title=An Antidote to Digital Dehumanization? Live Theater|last=Akhtar|first=Ayad|date=2017-12-29|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-07|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}
Akhtar's second novel, Homeland Elegies, was published in September 2020 by Little, Brown and Company. According to the publisher's press release, the book is drawn from Akhtar's life as the son of Muslim immigrants; he blends fact and fiction to tell a story of belonging and dispossession about the world that 9/11 made.{{Cite web|title=Akhtar's 'Homeland' Settles at LB|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/81293-book-deals-week-of-september-30-2019.html|website=www.publishersweekly.com|access-date=2019-10-07}} The New York Times named Homeland Elegies one of the 10 Best Books of 2020, calling the book "pitch perfect... virtuosic."{{Cite news|date=2020-11-23|title=The 10 Best Books of 2020|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/books/review/best-books.html|access-date=2021-02-23|issn=0362-4331}} The Washington Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and Publishers Weekly also named it one of the 10 best books of 2020, with the Post reviewer stating that he would not be "surprised if it wins [Akhtar] a second Pulitzer Prize."{{Cite news|last=Charles|first=Ron|title=Review {{!}} Ayad Akhtar's play 'Disgraced' won a Pulitzer Prize. Now 'Homeland Elegies' shows what that success cost him.|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/ayad-akhtars-play-disgraced-won-a-pulitzer-prize-now-homeland-elegies-shows-what-that-success-cost-him/2020/08/31/8d9f9b3e-eb9e-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html|access-date=2021-02-23|issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite magazine|title=The 10 Best Fiction Books of 2020|url=https://time.com/5913197/best-fiction-books-2020/|access-date=2021-02-23|magazine=Time}}{{Cite web|title=The 10 best books of 2020|url=https://ew.com/books/best-books-of-2020/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=EW.com|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Best Books 2020: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly|url=https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2020/top-10|access-date=2021-02-23|website=PublishersWeekly.com}} Slate, O, NPR, The Economist, and Kirkus Reviews named Homeland Elegies one of the best books of 2020.{{Cite web|last=Miller|first=Laura|date=2020-12-10|title=The Best Books of 2020|url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/best-books-2020-laura-miller.html|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Slate |language=en}}{{Cite web|last1=Haber|first1=Leigh|last2=Hart|first2=Michelle|last3=Cain|first3=Hamilton|date=2020-11-19|title=These Are the Best Books of 2020, According to O, The Oprah Magazine|url=https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/books/a34659750/best-books-of-2020/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Oprah Magazine|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|url=https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#tags=realistic+fiction&view=covers&year=2020|access-date=2021-02-23|website=apps.npr.org|title=Best Books 2021: Books We Love }}{{Cite news|date=2020-12-03|title=Our books of the year|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/12/03/our-books-of-the-year|access-date=2021-02-23|issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite web|title=Best of 2020|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2020/fiction/books/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Kirkus Reviews|language=en}} Barack Obama named it one of his favorite books of 2020.{{Cite web|title=Barack Obama on Instagram: "As 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to share my annual lists of favorites. I'll start by sharing my favorite books this year, deliberately ..."|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CI6Hwx7g9AK/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CI6Hwx7g9AK |archive-date=2021-12-24 |url-access=limited|access-date=2021-02-23|website=Instagram|language=en}}{{cbignore}} Homeland Elegies was shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction,{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2021-02-04|title=2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced|url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/2021-andrew-carnegie-medal-winners-announced/|access-date=2021-02-11|website=American Libraries Magazine|language=en-US}} and won the 2021 American Book Award.{{Cite web|title=Ayad Akhtar, Ben Ehrenreich among winners of American Book Awards|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2021/08/23/american-book-awards-2021-honors-ayad-akhtar-ben-ehrenreich/8248496002/|access-date=2021-09-28|website=USA Today|language=en-US}} An eight-episode limited series of Homeland Elegies is in development at FX, starring Kumail Nanjiani and adapted by Akhtar and Oren Moverman, who will direct all the episodes.{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=2021-07-09|title=Kumail Nanjiani To Headline & EP 'Homeland Elegies' Limited Series Adaptation In Works At FX|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/kumail-nanjiani-homeland-elegies-limited-series-fx-ayad-akhtar-oren-moverman-1234789461/|access-date=2021-09-28|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}
Ayad Akhtar served as president of PEN America from 2020 - 2023.{{cite web | title=Ayad Akhtar named new PEN American president | website=ABC News | date=2020-09-08 | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/ayad-akhtar-named-pen-american-president-72881656 | access-date=2020-12-02}} In 2021, Akhtar was named New York State Author by the New York State Writers Institute.{{Cite news|last=Mathew|first=Shrishti|date=2021-09-15|title=New York state author, poet announced|url=https://www.timesunion.com/books/article/NYS-author-poet-16462207.php|access-date=2021-09-27|website=Times Union|language=en-US}}
In 2023, it was announced that he would co-pen with Matthew Decker the libretto for the stage musical adaptation of Damien Chazelle's 2016 film La La Land, which will be directed by Bartlett Sher, with Justin Hurwitz and Pasek & Paul returning as songwriters.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/la-la-land-broadway-musical-1235319367/|title='La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical|first=Mia|last=Galuppo|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 7, 2023|access-date=February 7, 2023}}
In 2024 his latest play McNeal, surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence, was produced on Broadway starring Robert Downey Jr. at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in Lincoln Center.{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/2024/05/robert-downey-jr-broadway-1235907452/|title= Robert Downey Jr. To Make Broadway Debut This Fall In Ayad Akhtar's New Play 'McNeal'|website= Deadline Hollywood|date= May 7, 2024|accessdate= May 7, 2024}} The play was published in The Atlantic in December 2024 with a foreword by Jeremy Strong.https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/12/ayad-akhtar-mcneal-artificial-intelligence-writing/680720/
Style and recognition
His work has received two Tony Award nominations for Best Play, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters{{Cite web|url=https://artsandletters.org/pressrelease/2017-literature-award-winners/|title=2017 Literature Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-07}} and the Edith Wharton Citation for Merit in Fiction.{{Cite web|title=NYS Author and NYS Poet announced today|date=September 15, 2021 |url=https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/post/nys-author-and-nys-poet-announced-today|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916112154/https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/post/nys-author-and-nys-poet-announced-today |archive-date=September 16, 2021 }} Akhtar's writing covers various themes including the American-Muslim experience, religion and economics, immigration, and identity. In 2015, The Economist wrote that Akhtar's tales of assimilation "are as essential today as the work of Saul Bellow, James Farrell, and Vladimir Nabokov were in the 20th century in capturing the drama of the immigrant experience."{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2015/09/03/q-and-a-ayad-akhtar|title=Q&A: Ayad Akhtar|date=2015-09-03|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2019-10-07|issn=0013-0613}}
List of works
= Theater =
As a playwright
= Film =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="1"| 2002
| Life Document 2: Identity | Ahmad | Directed, Writer; Short film |
| rowspan="1"| 2005
| Hassan | Co-wrote script |
| 2006
| Long After | Naseer | Short |
| rowspan="1"| 2008
| FCU: Fact Checkers Unit | | Short |
= Television =
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="1"| 2011
| HBO television film |
| 2015-2017
| Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2022
| Himself | Episode: "Babysitting Lemurs" |
Awards and nominations
Honorary awards
{{div col | colwidth=30em}}
Homeland Elegies
- The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2020
- The Washington Post 10 Best Books of 2020{{Cite news|last=|title=The 10 best books of 2020|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/2020-best-books/|access-date=2021-02-23|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}}
- Time 10 Best Books - Fiction
- Publishers Weekly 10 Best Books of 2020
- An O Book of the Year
- A Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year
- A Slate Best Book of 2020
- A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year{{Cite web|title=Best Books for Adults 2020|url=https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/adults|access-date=2021-02-23|website=The New York Public Library|language=en}}
- NPR: A Best Book of 2020{{Cite web|url=https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2020|access-date=2021-02-23|website=apps.npr.org|title=Best Books 2021: Books We Love }}
- Barack Obama: A Favorite Book of 2020
- 2021 Shortlisted for Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction
- 2021 Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award{{Cite web|title=2021 Literary Awards|url=https://www.wisconsinlibraries.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3076:2021-literary-awards&catid=71:literary-awards&Itemid=256|access-date=2021-09-27|website=www.wisconsinlibraries.org}}
- 2021 American Book Award{{Cite web|title=Ayad Akhtar, Ben Ehrenreich among winners of American Book Awards|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2021/08/23/american-book-awards-2021-honors-ayad-akhtar-ben-ehrenreich/8248496002/|access-date=2021-09-27|website=USA Today|language=en-US}}
American Dervish
- Named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/2012-best-of/section/fiction/|title=Best Fiction of 2012 {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|website=Kirkus Reviews|language=en-us|access-date=2016-05-02}}
- Named a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year in Toronto{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/holiday-guide/gift-guides-shopping/the-globes-top-29-picks-for-international-fiction-of-2012/article5597044/?page=all|title=The Globe's top 29 picks for international fiction of 2012|website=The Globe and Mail|date=November 24, 2012 |access-date=2016-05-02}}
- Named a Shelf Awareness Best Book of the Year{{Cite web|url=http://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=158#m3035|title=Shelf Awareness for Readers for Friday, December 28, 2012|website=www.shelf-awareness.com|access-date=2016-05-02}}
- Named an O, The Oprah Magazine Book of the Year{{Cite web|url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/books/best-books-of-the-year-2012/o-the-oprah-magazines-best-books-of-2012/_/N-29Z8q8Z1rfi|title=O, The Oprah Magazine's Best Books of 2012, Best Books of the Year 2012, Books|website=Barnes & Noble|access-date=2016-05-02}}
General
- 2021 Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction{{Cite web|last=Institute|first=NYS Writers|date=2021-09-15|title=NYS Author and NYS Poet announced today|url=https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/post/nys-author-and-nys-poet-announced-today|access-date=2021-09-27|website=NYSWritersInstitute|language=en}}
- 2019 Erwin Piscator Award{{Cite web|url=https://www.lahrvonleitisacademy.eu/en/piscator_award.html|title=Piscator Award. The Lahr von Leitis Academy & Archive|website=www.lahrvonleitisacademy.eu|access-date=2019-10-10}}
- 2017 Steinberg Playwright Award{{cite news|last1=Chow|first1=Andrew|title=Ayad Akhtar and Lucas Hnath Win Steinberg Awards|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/theater/ayad-akhtar-lucas-hnath-steinberg-awards.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 27, 2017}}
- 2017 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
{{div col end}}
Bibliography
Books
- 2020 Homeland Elegies. Little, Brown and Company {{ISBN|978-0316496421}}
- 2012 American Dervish. Little, Brown and Company{{cite web|title=Little, Brown and Company Fall '11/Winter '12 |url=http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/_assets/busresources/catalogs/LB_Fall2011Winter2012.pdf |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |access-date=May 31, 2011 |date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829132737/http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/_assets/busresources/catalogs/LB_Fall2011Winter2012.pdf |archive-date=August 29, 2011 }}
Plays
- 2013 Disgraced. Little, Brown and Company{{Cite book|title=Disgraced: A Play|last=Akhtar|first=Ayad|date=2013-09-10|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0-316-32446-5}}
- 2014 The Who & The What. Little, Brown and Company{{Cite book|title=The Who & The What: A Play|last=Akhtar|first=Ayad|date=2014-10-07|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0-316-32449-6}}
- 2015 The Invisible Hand. Little, Brown and Company{{Cite book|title=The Invisible Hand|last=Akhtar|first=Ayad|date=2015-08-25|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0-316-32453-3}}
- 2016 Junk: The Golden Age of Debt. Little, Brown and Company{{Cite book|title=Junk: A Play|last=Akhtar|first=Ayad|date=2017-11-30|publisher=Back Bay Books|isbn=978-0-316-55072-7}}
Translations
Ashraf Ibrahim Zidan translated Akhtar's Disgraced into Arabic under the title Al-Makhzi.[https://alqahera30.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%81-%D8%B2%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%8A%D9%8F%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%B2%D9%8A-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%84%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%C2%A0-%C2%A0-%C2%A0-%C2%A0] {{deadlink|date=December 2023}}
References
{{reflist |25em}}
Further reading
- {{cite magazine |author=Schwartz, Alexandra |date=September 21, 2020 |title=Making a scene : in the age of Trump, a writer explores America's divisions—and his own |department=Life and Letters |magazine=The New Yorker |volume=96 |issue=28 |pages=18–25 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/09/21/an-american-writer-for-an-age-of-division }}Online version is titled "An American writer for an age of division".
———————
;Notes
{{reflist|30em|group=lower-alpha}}
External links
- {{IMDb name |1628370}}
- {{LCAuth|n2007001005|Ayad Akhtar|3|}}
{{American Book Awards (2020–2039)}}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 2001–2025}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Ayad}}
Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:American Book Award winners
Category:American expatriates in Italy
Category:American male dramatists and playwrights
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male novelists
Category:Muslims from New York (state)
Category:American writers of Pakistani descent
Category:Brown University alumni
Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Category:Male actors from Milwaukee
Category:Male actors from Staten Island
Category:Novelists from New York (state)
Category:Novelists from Wisconsin
Category:Pakistani dramatists and playwrights
Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners
Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)
Category:Screenwriters from Wisconsin
Category:Writers from Milwaukee