(50th Special) Leïla Slimani: One of the Most Influential French People in the World

For our 50th episode (!!) Leïla Slimani joins to talk about her latest book Watch Us Dance, which follows on from The Country of Others. Leïla is a French-Moroccan writer and journalist. In November 2018, she was named the second most influential French person in the world, ahead of the President and Mbappé, in Vanity Fair's esteemed annual list. France Today listed in last year as one of 12 Influential French Women You Should Know About, alongside the Prime Minister and the Mayor of Paris. She is also a French diplomat in her capacity as the personal representative of the French president Emmanuel Macron to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She was made an Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2017. In 2016, she was awarded the Prix Goncourt for her novel Lullaby. It sold over 600k copies its first year and 100k in its first week. She was Chair of the Judges for last year’s International Booker Prize. She also won the British Book Award for Debut Novel of the Year in 2019. Her non-fiction book Sex and Lies: Sex Life in Morocco sparked nationwide conversation about women’s rights. Her work as a journalist has involved covering the Arab Spring and interviewing Michelle Obama in 2022. She’s been interviewed by leading outlets and publications around the world including Vogue, Vogue Arabia, The Guardian, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, El País, Morocco World News and Le Monde.  Get her latest book here, or at your local bookshop.