Mortada Gzar

Mortada Gzar is an Iraqi American writer, filmmaker, visual artist, and political cartoonist. He is the author of the memoir I’m in Seattle, Where Are You?, which was long-listed for the PEN Translation Prize; four novels; a children’s book; and a short-story collection. He has also illustrated two books for children and has had his work published in Words Without Borders, World Literature Today, and Iraq + 100: The First Anthology of Science Fiction to Have Emerged from Iraq, as well as numerous Arabic newspapers. Gzar is the creator of the Seattle Arab Film Festival, and his film Language was awarded a grant by the Doha Film Institute. He was born in Kuwait in 1982, grew up in Basra, Iraq, and now lives in Seattle, Washington.