Aaliyah Bilal | |
|---|---|
 Bilal in 2024 | |
| Education | Oberlin College (BA) University of London (MA) |
| Notable work | Temple Folk |
| Awards | Whiting Award Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence |
Aaliyah Bilal is an American writer. She is best known for her debut collection of short stories, Temple Folk, [1] which tells of the lives of Black Muslims living in America in the 1970s, including their participation and interaction with The Nation of Islam. The book was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction [2] and the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize. [3] She also received the 2024 Whiting Award. [4] In May 2024, it was announced the book received the 17th annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. [5]
Bilal grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. to a middle class Sunni Muslim family. [6] She attended Oberlin College where she earned degrees in African American studies and Spanish, and the University of London where she earned a master's degree. [7] Bilal has cited Toni Morrison, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Edward P. Jones as literary influences. Her previous writing has also appeared in the Chicago Quarterly Review and The Rumpus. [8]
