A conversation with Leila Aboulela

ABSTRACT This conversation with Leila Aboulela is shaped primarily by an interest in her work’s position in the literary marketplace, especially in the UK. It explores Aboulela’s considerable success as a Muslim writer whose fictional worlds are infused with Islam, and asks what this might tell us about the place of faith within the marketplace. The discussion ranges from the author’s journey to publication through the roles played by editors and designers in the production of her fiction to the marketing and reception of her work, also exploring the question of whether and how to translate faith to a secular readership. Mindful of shifts in the reception of writers of colour, including Muslim-heritage writers, through Aboulela’s long career, it concludes with a consideration of a new generation of writers whose work does not shy away from Islamic perspectives, suggesting an openness to unfamiliar world views among readers and some publishers.