Leila Slimani needs no introduction.
Acclaimed author of The Perfect Nanny – for which she was the first Moroccan woman to win France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2016. She is a prolific author and has written several novels, such as In the Country of Others, Watch Us Dance, and Adele, often exploring themes of identity, freedom, sexuality, and the tensions between personal aspirations and social expectations.
She also served as French President Emmanuel Macron’s personal representative to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
On September 29, she will visit San Francisco as part of the renowned City Arts & Lectures series for a conversation with New York Times editor and author Nadja Spiegelman at the Sydney Goldstein Theater.
Slimani will discuss her newest novel, I’ll Take The Fire, the highly anticipated final installment of her acclaimed family trilogy inspired by her own family’s roots in Morocco. Set against the backdrop of major historical events including the fall of the Berlin Wall and the aftermath of 9/11, the novel follows Mia Daoud, a young woman searching for political, personal, and sexual freedom as she navigates life between cultures and continents. Through Mia’s journey, Slimani explores questions of belonging, emancipation, and the universal quest to become oneself.
The event is part of City Arts & Lectures.
Date: September 29th, 2026 at 7:30PM
Address: Sydney Goldstein Theater -275 Hayes Street, 94102 San Francisco
Tickets click here
