Leila Mottley (born 2002) is an American novelist and poet.^[1] She is The New York Times bestselling^[2] author of Nightcrawling, which was a nominated for numerous awards, including the Booker Prize,^[3][4] making her the youngest author to have been nominated for the award.^[5] In 2018, at age 16, she was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California.^[6]

Early life

Mottley was born and raised in Oakland, California,^[7] where she continues to reside.^[8] She began attending Smith College in 2019 and is currently on indefinite leave to pursue writing.^[9]

Career

Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland,^[7] California in 2018 at age 16, having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate.^[6] Her poetry has appeared in The New York Times.^[10]

Mottley co-wrote and starred in a documentary short, When I Write It, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020.^[11]

In June 2022, Mottley published her first novel, Nightcrawling,^[12] which she began writing at age 16.^[5] She wrote the original version during the summer of 2019, shortly after completing her high school education. At the time, she was employed as a substitute preschool teacher.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Awards and honors

In 2018, at the age of 16, Mottley was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Oakland, California,^[7] having served the prior year as Vice Youth Poet Laureate.^[6][17]

Her debut novel, Nightcrawling, was an Oprah's Book Club pick in June 2022,^[18] and AudioFile included it on their list of the best audiobooks of 2022.^[19]

In 2023 she received a PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award for Nightcrawling.

Selected publications

• Nightcrawling (2022)