PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel
1 appearances
-
Edition 26 (2001) Nominee
Mohsin Hamid
モーシン・ハミド
Mohsin Hamid
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1971-07-23 （Lahore, Pakistan）
- Nationality
- Pakistani, British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Lahore, Pakistan → New York, USA → London, United Kingdom
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Writer, Brand consultant
- Active Years
- 2000-
- Affiliations
- McKinsey & Company, Wolff Olins, Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
- Memberships
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
- Influenced By
- Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, Albert Camus
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahore American School | — | — | — | — | Pakistan |
| Princeton University (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs) | — | School of Public and International Affairs | A.B. | 1989–1993 | United States |
| Harvard Law School | — | — | J.D. | 1994–1997 | United States |
Lahore American School
Country:
Pakistan
Secondary education (exact years not specified)
Princeton University (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs)
School of Public and International Affairs
Degree:
A.B.
Period:
1989–1993
Year of Graduation:
1993
Country:
United States
Wrote senior thesis "Sustainable Power: Integrated Resource Planning in Pakistan"
Harvard Law School
Degree:
J.D.
Period:
1994–1997
Year of Graduation:
1997
Country:
United States
Completed law degree; later worked in management consulting
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Betty Trask Award | Moth Smoke | — | The Society of Authors | Winner |
| 2001 | Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award | Moth Smoke | — | PEN America | Shortlist |
| 2007 | Booker Prize | The Reluctant Fundamentalist | — | The Booker Prizes | Shortlist |
| 2008 | Anisfield-Wolf Book Award | The Reluctant Fundamentalist | — | Anisfield-Wolf | Winner |
| 2013 | Tiziano Terzani International Literary Prize | How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia | — | Vicinolontano (organizers) | Winner |
| 2018 | Aspen Words Literary Prize | Exit West | — | Aspen Words | Winner |
| 2018 | LA Times Book Prize | Exit West | — | Los Angeles Times | Winner |
| — | Sitara-i-Imtiaz | — | — | Government of Pakistan | Recipient |
Betty Trask Award
2001
Work:
Moth Smoke
Organization:
The Society of Authors
Result:
Winner
Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award
2001
Work:
Moth Smoke
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
Shortlist
Booker Prize
2007
Work:
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Organization:
The Booker Prizes
Result:
Shortlist
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
2008
Work:
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Organization:
Anisfield-Wolf
Result:
Winner
Tiziano Terzani International Literary Prize
2013
Work:
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
Organization:
Vicinolontano (organizers)
Result:
Winner
Aspen Words Literary Prize
2018
Work:
Exit West
Organization:
Aspen Words
Result:
Winner
LA Times Book Prize
2018
Work:
Exit West
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
Winner
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
Organization:
Government of Pakistan
Result:
Recipient
Awards & Nominations
Betty Trask Prize and Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (2001) Winner
Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (2008) Winner
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 73 (2008) Winner
Asian American Literary Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 11 (2008) Winner
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 38 (2017) Winner
Works
Major Works
Moth Smoke
2000 Literary fiction 224 pagesSet in Lahore, it follows an ex-banker who descends into addiction and moral decline; noted for multiple voices and an experimental structure.
urban transformationdecadencefriendship and betrayaleffects of modernization
Adaptations
- [Television] Moth Smoke (TV adaptation)
- [Operetta] Moth Smoke (operetta)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
2007 Literary fiction 160 pagesA Pakistani man narrates his experiences in America and his changing identity after 9/11 in the form of a dramatic monologue.
identityimmigrant experiencecultural misunderstandingpolitics and the individual
How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
2013 Experimental novel / Social fiction 192 pagesNarrated in second person, it follows a young man's rise from poverty to wealth in 'rising Asia', using the self-help book form to critique ambition and society.
ambitioneconomic ascenturbanizationlove and loneliness
Exit West
2017 Literary fiction 240 pagesA story incorporating magical doors that transport people across borders; it examines migration, love, and a changing world.
migrationlovebordersrebuilding communities
The Last White Man
2022 Literary fiction / Allegorical 176 pagesAn allegorical novel about race and identity, exploring transformation and loss.
racetransformationloss
Bibliography
- Moth Smoke (2000)
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007)
- How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (2013)
- Exit West (2017)
- The Last White Man (2022)
- Discontent and Its Civilisations (non-fiction, 2014)
Adaptations
- Moth Smoke - TV adaptation in Pakistan; adapted as an operetta in Italy
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- experimental structuresuse of second-person narrationconcise and symbolic proseblend of social and political themes
- Recurring Motifs
- cities and modernizationmigration and bordersshifting identitieseconomic ambition and its costs
Legacy
Hamid is regarded as a significant voice in 21st-century global literature, internationally recognized for works on migration, identity, and transformations in contemporary Asia.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature
Quotes
-
A novel can often be a divided man's conversation with himself.
Source: Interview (excerpt) (2009)
Trivia
- Spent part of childhood in the United States while his father studied at Stanford.
- Studied under Toni Morrison and Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton.
- Worked at Wolff Olins while continuing to write; later served as the firm's Chief Storytelling Officer.