Noor Naga

Noor Naga
Born	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Education	University of Toronto (MA)
Occupation	Writer
Known for	If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English

Noor Naga is a Canadian-Egyptian[1] writer, most noted for her 2022 novel If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English.[2]

Life

Naga was born in Philadelphia[3][4] and spent time living in Charleston, South Carolina, until at age seven,[5] she and her family moved to Dubai.[3][4] She received a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto.[6] Naga presently lives in Cairo, Egypt.[7]

Bibliography

• Washes, Prays (2020)
• If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English (2022)

Awards and honours

Naga received the Canada Graduate Scholarship-Master’s,[6] the Mary Coyne Rowell Jackman Graduate Scholarship, and the Avie Bennett Emerging Writers Scholarship from the University of Toronto.[6]

CBC included Naga's Washes, Prays in their "Best Canadian Poetry of 2020" list.[8] If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English received positive media responses, as well. TIME included it on their list of "100 Must-Read Books of 2022,”[9] and BuzzFeed listed it as one of their "Best Books of 2022."[10] Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review and included it on their "Best Fictional Voices of 2022" list.[11][12]

Awards for Naga's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref
2015		Room's Fiction Contest	Shortlist	[6]
2017	"The Mistress and the Ping"	RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers	Winner	[1][6]
2019		DISQUIET Fiction Prize	Winner	[7][13]
	American Girl and Boy from Shobrakheit	Graywolf Press Africa Prize	Winner	[14]
		RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award	Winner	[15]
2021	Washes, Prays	George Ellenbogen Poetry Award	Honorable mention	[16]
		Pat Lowther Award	Winner	[17]
2022	If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English	Center for Fiction First Novel Prize	Winner	[18][19][20]
		Giller Prize	Shortlist	[3][21]
		PEN/ Jean Stein Book Award	Shortlist	[22][23]

References

1. Robertson, Becky (2017-05-31). "Noor Naga wins 2017 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers - Quill and Quire". Quill and Quire. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
2. Nadia Owusu, "Two Strangers Meet in a Cafe in Cairo. What Happens Next Is Complicated" Archived 2022-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times, April 12, 2022.
3. Dundas, Deborah (2022-09-27). "Rawi Hage, Suzette Mayr among five finalists for the 2022 Giller Prize worth $100,000". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2022-12-08. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
4. "Noor Naga on moral decisions, millennial Muslims and modern love". CBC Radio. 2020-07-31. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
5. Naga, Noor (2021-10-25). "Who Writes the Arabian Gulf?". The Common. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
6. "Noor Naga". Writers' Trust of Canada. Archived from the original on 2022-10-04. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
7. "Noor Naga". Noor Naga. 2020-01-28. Archived from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
8. "The best Canadian poetry of 2020". CBC Books. December 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
9. "The 100 Must-Read Books of 2022". Time. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
10. Kingsbury, Margaret; Penn, Farrah; Hunt, Will; Vogel, David; Beaton, Kirby; Malone, Emerson; Strolle, Rachel; Adler, Dahlia; Obaro, Tomi (December 5, 2022). "25 Books From 2022 You'll Love". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
11. "Best Fictional Voices of 2022". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
12. "If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English". Kirkus Reviews. February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
13. "Stephanie Dinsae and more in The Common". Disquiet International. 2021-10-27. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
14. "NOOR NAGA WINS THE GRAYWOLF PRESS AFRICA PRIZE". Graywolf Press. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
15. "Fareh Malik wins 2022 RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award". PEN Canada. 2022-06-29. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
16. "2021 Arab American Book Award Winners". Arab American National Museum. Archived from the original on 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
17. Smith, Charlie (2021-05-06). "Vancouver poet Jillian Christmas and UBC creative writing professor Ian Williams win national awards". The Georgia Straight. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
18. Schaub, Michael (2022-12-08). "Noor Naga Wins First Novel Prize". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
19. "Noor Naga Wins The Center for Fiction 2022 First Novel Prize for If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English". The Center for Fiction. Archived from the original on 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
20. "Awards: Waterstones Book of the Year; Center for Fiction First Novel Winner". Shelf Awareness. December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
21. Schaub, Michael (2022-09-29). "Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist Is Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2023-03-06.
22. "Announcing the 2023 PEN America Literary Awards Finalists". PEN America. 2023-02-15. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
23. Schaub, Michael (2023-02-16). "Finalists for PEN America Literary Awards Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2023-03-06. Retrieved 2023-03-06.

External links

• Official website