Moustafa Bayoumi is a writer in New York City known for his creative nonfiction, such as How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America and This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror, both winners of the Arab American Book Award for Nonfiction. An avid contributor to public life through his writing, Bayoumi regularly writes for The Guardian as well as other mainstream presses. Influenced by his former advisor and mentor Edward Said, Bayoumi sees himself primarily as a literary journalist, but also breaks disciplinary boundaries by writing across fields. He has responded to the need to address local and domestic issues in the Muslim community in NYC since 9/11 in particular, before which many local organizations focused on international issues. “The continuing challenge I face in my work is how to balance writing about local issues that are specific to what Muslims in New York City face with writing about the international issues that we all must confront,” he says.
