'I write about the things that make me angry'

At the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, the Egyptian-American author discusses hope, and how all literature is political

- Rutvik Bhandari

Congratulations on the success of One Day... The title feels both prophetic and resigned. How did you arrive at it?

I never really used to post online —I feel short form is not my strong suit— but in late October 2023, I posted this tweet that I didn’t think was particularly profound. It was just this notion that, with respect to the slaughter in Gaza, one day, when it’s safe, when there's no personal downside, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.