Ishmael Beah

Ishmael Beah, born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, is the # 1 New York Times & international bestselling author of "A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" & "Radiance of Tomorrow, A Novel." His books have been published in over 40 languages and won numerous prestigious awards and reviews. His Memoir was nominated for a Quill Award in the Best Debut Author category for 2007. Time Magazine named the book as one of the Top 10 Nonfiction books of 2007, ranking at number 3. Carolyn See from The Washington Post wrote, “Everyone in the world should read this book… We should read it to learn about the world and about what it means to be human.”

His novel, written with the gentle lyricism of a dream and the moral clarity of a fable is a powerful book about preserving what means the most to us, even in uncertain times.

The New York Times finds in his writing an "allegorical richness" and a "remarkable humanity to his characters". His forthcoming book "Little Family, A Novel" will be published in April 28, 2020 by Riverhead Books (Penguin USA).

He is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and advocate for Children by War, and a member of the Human Rights Watch Children Advisory Committed. He lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and three children.