Nasri Atallah

Nasri Atallah was born and grew up in London, United Kingdom, where he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle. His parents, Samir Atallah and May Francis, are both British-Lebanese and were living in London at the time. His father, Samir Atallah, is a prominent Arab author, journalist and thinker, and the winner of many awards for his decades of contribution to Arab literature.[3][4]

Atallah moved to Beirut for the first time in 1997, finished school and read politics at the American University of Beirut.[5] He holds a Masters in International politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies,[6] where he completed a dissertation on the Deterritorialization of Identity Through Transnational Media.

Atallah started is career at the United Nations Development Programme, then moved into energy research, later joining a wealth management firm[7] before moving into advertising, content and production in 2009.

During a brief stint at J. Walter Thompson as a conceptual copywriter, Atallah wrote a blog entitled Our Man in Beirut which earned him notoriety amongst the Lebanese community both in Lebanon and abroad.[8][7] His essays unpacking the difficulties of navigating Lebanese culture while having grown up abroad drew him both fans and detractors. The blog's success led to a publishing deal with Turning Point books,[9] and the print version was released in December 2011 in Beirut, with book signings at Waterstones[10] in London and at Livre Paris[11]

From 2011 to 2017, Atallah worked at as Head of Media at a creative agency focused on culture from the Middle East, across music, publishing and film.[12][13] There, he launched the career[14] of the prominent Lebanese blues rock revival duo, The Wanton Bishops, through his role as their manager.[15] He has also worked with Egyptian electro-singer and producer Bosaina, Montreal indie band Wake Island,[16][17] and krautrock band Lumi.

Since 2018, he has been focused on creative projects in film and television as a producer and screenwriter, as well as continuing to write creative non-fiction and fiction.[18] He is represented by Aoife Rice at United Agents.[19]

• A Lost Summer: Postcards From Lebanon (Contributor) (Saqi Books, 2008) ISBN 978-0863566868
• Our Man in Beirut (Turning Point Books, 2011) ISBN 978-9953021102
• Share This Book (Contributor) (SHARE Foundation, 2013) [33]
• Beyrouth, Chroniques et détours by Mashallah News and AMI Collective (Foreword) (Tamyras Éditions, 2014) ISBN 9782360860517[34]
• Haramacy: A collection of essays prescribed by voices from the Middle East, South Asia and the diaspora (Contributor) (Unbound Books, 2022)[35] ISBN 978-1800181328

Atallah is married to award-winning Lebanese fashion designer Nour Hage.[36] The couple have been together since 2013.

• Nasri Atallah