Today we’re talking to poet and novelist Aria Aber. Aria is an Afghan-German poet, novelist and educator. Her poetry collection Hard Damage won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and Whiting Award. Her debut novel, Good Girl, was shortlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Yale Review, and Granta. Good Girl is my favourite book I’ve read so far in 2026, I absolutely loved it.

We follow a girl, Nila, who is immersed in the Berlin clubbing scene, grappling with her Aghan identity in the wake of increasing xenophobia towards Afghan people. She explores friendship, family, and also a tumultuous relationship with an older man – a writer called Marlowe. I am so thrilled to be introducing to the Inklings Book Club, Aria Aber.

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