The Latest Breaking News from Leila Mottley

The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley review – teenage mothers and melodrama

This ambitious tale of solidarity and sisterhood in Florida has moments of poetic clarity, but falls short of the author’s dazzling debut

The Guardian - UK · Jul 15, 2025

'Sea to Sea'

For 'Marie Claire's Makers issue, author and poet Leila Mottley pens an evocative poem.

Marie Claire · Apr 16, 2024

Books: 4 stunning fiction debuts by Bay Area authors of color

While many of us will remember the last year as a time when superstar authors published highly anticipated follow-ups — think Michelle Obama, Jennifer Egan and Hanya Yanagihara — it was also a banner year for emerging voices.

Tribune News Service · Jan 18, 2023

Booker prize longlist of 13 writers aged 20 to 87 announced

List comprises 13 writers of fiction, from NoViolet Bulawayo to Leila Mottley, described as ‘stimulating, surprising, nourishing’ by judging panel

The Guardian - UK · Jul 26, 2022

18 brilliant books to add to your summer reading list

Choosing a reading list for the summer is a very serious matter. The Indy Culture team share the books we’ll be getting stuck into

The Independent UK · Jul 11, 2022

The best books to read this summer, from Ottessa Moshfegh to Gabrielle Zevin

Choosing a reading list for the summer is a very serious matter. The Indy Culture team share the books we’ll be getting stuck into

The Independent UK · Jul 10, 2022

'I have a lot of time': Oakland poet-novelist phenom Leila Mottley, 19, has just begun

Some people are shocked when they learn that Leila Mottley is still a teenager. Their shock comes as no surprise to her: "I expect it at this point."

Los Angeles Times · Jun 8, 2022

Winfrey picks Leila Mottley's 'Nightcrawling' for book club

Oprah Winfrey has chosen 19-year-old Leila Mottley’s “Nightcrawling,” a debut novel about a young Black woman from East Oakland and her battles with poverty, racism and the police, for next book club pick

The Independent UK · Jun 7, 2022

Teenager Leila Mottley on writing her debut novel: ‘I’ve always done things at a warp speed’

The 19-year-old’s uncommonly assured book Nightcrawling, about marginalised lives in her home town of Oakland, has won fans including Dave Eggers and Ruth Ozeki

The Guardian - UK · Jun 5, 2022

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley review – a dazzling debut

This chilling tale of power and corruption, based on a true crime involving brutality in the Oakland police department, announces a bold new voice

The Guardian - UK · Jun 2, 2022