Jonas Hassen Khemiri

Jonas Hassen Khemiri, born in Stockholm 1978, is the author of three novels and six plays translated into fifteen languages. His play Invasion! won a Village Voice Obie Award for playwriting. Khemiri’s plays, which grapple with issues of migration and national identity, have been performed globally and resonate deeply with international audiences. In 2013, Khemiri wrote a poignant letter to Swedish Minister of Justice Beatrice Ask, recounting memories of discrimination and racial profiling, ultimately requesting that she take action towards change. Originally posted in the newspaper Dagens Nyheter and later published in over 20 languages and featured in The New York Times, the letter went viral on social media. Khemiri believes in the potential of words and works regularly to share the power of language with undocumented refugees in a creative writing workshop he began in 2013.