Leila Mottley

<p>A native of Oakland, California, <strong>Leila Mottley</strong> uses her writing as a tool to call for social justice reform and advocate for victims of sexual violence. Her acclaimed poetry has appeared in <em>Oprah Daily</em> and <em>The New York Times</em>, and her incandescent debut novel <em>Nightcrawling</em> was selected by Oprah Winfrey for her 2022 Book Club, making Mottley - who is 20 - the club’s youngest author ever. Inspired by true stories of the exploitation of young women by police departments in the United States, including a 2015 case in Oakland and its subsequent cover-up, the book has earned widespread acclaim. “Leila Mottley’s writing erupts and flows like lava,” writes Tommy Orange, “makes hot bright an Oakland that runs the city’s uncontrollable brilliance… <em>Nightcrawling</em> bursts at the seams of every page and swallows you whole.” On October 6, 2022, Leila Mottley came to the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco for an on-stage conversation with Michelle Lee. The program was a co-presentation with Youth Speaks. </p>