Leila Mottley

Leila Mottley (born 2002) is an American novelist and poet.[1] She is The New York Times bestselling author of Nightcrawling, which was a nominated for numerous awards, including the Booker Prize,[2][3] making her the youngest author to have been nominated for the award.[4] In 2018, at age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California.[5]

Leila Mottley
Born2002 (age 20–21)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Notable worksNightcrawling

Early life

Mottley was born and raised in Oakland, California, where she continues to reside.[6] She began attending Smith College in 2019 and is currently on indefinite leave to pursue writing.[7]

Career

Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California in 2018 at age 16, having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate.[5] Her poetry has appeared in The New York Times.[8]

Mottley co-wrote and starred in a documentary short, When I Write It, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020.[9]

In June 2022, Mottley published her first novel, Nightcrawling,[10] which she began writing at age 16.[4] She wrote the original version during the summer of 2019, shortly after completing her high school education. At the time, she was employed as a substitute preschool teacher.[11][12][13][14]

Awards and honors

In 2018, at the age of 16, Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California, having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate.[5][15]

Her debut novel, Nightcrawling, was an Oprah's Book Club pick in June 2022,[16] and AudioFile included it on their list of the best audiobooks of 2022.[17]

In 2023 she received a PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for Nightcrawling.

Awards for Mottley's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2022 Nightcrawling Booker Prize Longlist [2][4]
Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults Selection [18]
Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fiction Nominee [19]
Goodreads Choice Award for Best Debut Novel Nominee [19]
2023 Audie Award for Best Female Narrator Finalist [20]
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction Finalist [21]

Selected publications

References
  1. Pineda, Dorany (7 June 2022). "'I have a lot of time': Oakland poet-novelist phenom Leila Mottley, 19, has just begun". LA Times. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  2. Nawotka, Ed (2022-07-26). "Six Americans Make the Booker Prize Longlist". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-08. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  3. "Leila Mottley interview: 'There's never a wrong age to tell the story that is aching inside of you' | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  4. "Awards: Booker Longlist". Shelf Awareness. 2022-07-27. Archived from the original on 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  5. "Leila Mottley '23: Finding Her Voice Through Poetry". Post News Group. Oakland Post. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  6. "Five Things to Know About Leila Mottley". Oprah Daily. 11 June 2022. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  7. "'I have a lot of time': Oakland poet-novelist phenom Leila Mottley, 19, has just begun". Los Angeles Times. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  8. "Young Black Poets". New York Times. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. "2020 Official Selection: Shorts". Tribeca Film Festival. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  10. "Oprah's latest book club pick: 'Nightcrawling,' by Leila Mottley". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. Egan, Elisabeth (30 June 2022). "Leila Mottley Graduated From High School and Wrote a Novel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. Armitstead, Claire; @carmitstead (2022-06-05). "Teenager Leila Mottley on writing her debut novel: 'I've always done things at a warp speed'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  13. "Young Oakland author Leila Mottley makes a splash with debut novel 'Nightcrawling'". KRON4. 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  14. "Leila Mottley's Novel Explores What Justice Means for Black Girls". Teen Vogue. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  15. "'I have a lot of time': Oakland poet-novelist phenom Leila Mottley, 19, has just begun". Los Angeles Times. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2023-08-15.
  16. "Oprah's Book Club Pick: Nightcrawling". Shelf Awareness. 2022-06-08. Archived from the original on 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  17. Milliot, Jim (2022-12-01). "'AudioFile' Magazine's Best Audiobooks of 2022". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  18. "Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books for Young Adults, 2022". Booklist. 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  19. "Nightcrawling". Goodreads. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  20. "2023 Audie Award Winners". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  21. "2023 Lambda Award Shortlist Finalists Announced". BOOK RIOT. 2023-03-15. Archived from the original on 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
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