What if you could be locked away simply for having disturbing dreams? That’s part of the premise in internationally acclaimed author Laila Lalami’s latest novel, The Dream Hotel. In this episode, Laila discusses the themes that inspired and eventually mirrored her book, along with her background in writing, her daily routine, writing tips and more.
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Links mentioned in this episode
- WIN A Forbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwan
- Buy So You Want to be a Writer – the book!
- Facebook group for So You Want to be a Writer
Writer in residence: Laila Lalami
Laila Lalami is the author of six books, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston / Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller, won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction. Her books have been translated into twenty languages. Her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles. Her new novel, The Dream Hotel, was published in March 2025.
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This podcast is brought to you by the Australian Writers' Centre and our course Creative Writing Stage 1.
Find out more about your host, Valerie Khoo (@valeriekhoo on Twitter and @valeriekhoo on Instagram).
