Monica Ali

1971–

Born in Dhaka, formerly East Pakistan, to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother, Monica Ali emigrated to Britain with her family at the age of 3 during the liberation war that led to the creation of an independent Bangladesh. She was raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester, where she attended Bolton School. At 18 she left to study philosophy, politics and economics at Wadham College, Oxford. Since graduating, she has lived primarily in south London.

As the author of five novels, Monica Ali has played a pivotal role in bringing South Asian stories to the forefront of British literary culture, with her work being translated into twenty-six languages. Her debut novel, Brick Lane (2003), catapulted her into the literary spotlight, becoming a bestseller, earning a spot on the Booker Prize shortlist and securing her place as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists that same year.

Brick Lane drew from Ali’s observations of the tensions between first- and second-generation immigrants, her father’s stories of village life in Bangladesh and research on female Bangladeshi garment workers in both Dhaka and London’s East End. The novel resonated with readers worldwide across a wide range of backgrounds for its exploration of the working-class immigrant experience in modern postcolonial Britain through a feminist lens, including the struggle for self-empowerment, finding one's place in the world, the yearning for respect and the conflict between personal freedom and familial duty. Ali continues to interrogate themes of cultural identity, class and family dynamics, with her latest novel, Love Marriage (2022), addressing contemporary issues in today’s multiracial Britain, including Islamophobia, Brexit and NHS underfunding.

Monica Ali is also committed to supporting marginalized communities in the UK. She serves as Patron of Hopscotch Women’s Centre in Camden, which supports minoritized ethnic women and girls on issues such as domestic violence, employment and housing.

Monica Ali's writing has been featured in publications like the Guardian, The Times, the New Yorker and the New York Times. She has been nominated for prestigious awards such as the George Orwell Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She has also judged literary prizes, including chairing the Asian Literary Prize.