Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is an American-born playwright,
novelist, and screenwriter of Pakistani heritage who received the 2013
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His work has received two Tony Award
nominations for Best Play and an Award in Literature from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters. 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."Akhtar was born in
Staten Island, New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His
interest in literature was initially sparked in high school. Akhtar
attended Brown University, where he majored in theater and religion
and began acting and directing student plays. After graduation he
moved to Italy to work with Jerzy Grotowski, eventually becoming his
assistant. 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.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." 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.
novelist, and screenwriter of Pakistani heritage who received the 2013
Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His work has received two Tony Award
nominations for Best Play and an Award in Literature from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters. 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."Akhtar was born in
Staten Island, New York City and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His
interest in literature was initially sparked in high school. Akhtar
attended Brown University, where he majored in theater and religion
and began acting and directing student plays. After graduation he
moved to Italy to work with Jerzy Grotowski, eventually becoming his
assistant. 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.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." 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.
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