Rabih Alameddine and Elif Shafak talk to Daniel Hahn

How writers can give a voice to those who need it. Two authors talk about why they weave themes of gender, violence, identity, social justice and human rights into their work. Lebanese author Rabih Alameddine and British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak talk to writer and translator Daniel Hahn about the importance of creating stories that give a platform to silenced voices.

Alameddine’s 2025 National Book Award-winning The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) is a darkly comic family saga celebrating love across six decades, through the unbreakable attachment of a son and his mother. Shafak’s latest novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky, connects the lives of three strangers across time and space through the everlasting influence of two rivers, the Tigris and the Thames.