Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman

Naomi Alderman was born in 1974 and is currently 52 years old. Naomi Alderman was born in London, England. Alderman attended Lincoln College, Oxford and the University of East Anglia.

Naomi Alderman is known for writing in the Sci-Fi and Literary Fiction genres.

Naomi Alderman is an English game writer, novelist, and television executive producer. She is best known for The Power, a speculative science fiction novel, which won the 2017 Women’s Prize for Fiction and was adapted for a TV series by Amazon Studios.

During her teen years, she became an advocate for feminism during her teen years and has since supported women’s rights, which has been an influence on her work as a writer. She wrote The Power to address certain points made by the fourth-wave feminism movement and she cites the Me Too movement as an inspiration and a source of similar dialogue.

Naomi was educated at both South Hampstead High School and Lincoln College, Oxford, where she read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. After leaving Oxford, she worked in children’s publishing and then at a law firm, editing their publications. At the University of East Anglia, she would study creative writing before becoming a novelist.

Writing Disobedience led her to reject life as a practicing Jew. She went into the novel religious and by the end she was not. She wrote herself out of it.

The Sunday Times named her Young Writer of the Year in 2007. That same year, Waterstones named her one of their 25 Writers of the Future.

Disobedience is about a close-knit Orthodox Jewish community in London and is a revealing look at sexuality and religion. It starts with the community’s esteemed rabbi passing away. This sets in motion these plans for a memorial service and the quest to find his replacement.

David, the rabbi’s nephew and most likely successor, calls up Ronit (his cousin) in New York to inform her that her dad died. Ronit, who went and left the community a long time ago in order to build her life as a career woman, returns home once she hears this news, and her reappearance exposes rips in the fabric of this community.

The novel is steeped in Jewish teachings and philosophy and is a thoughtful and perceptive exploration of the practices and laws which have governed Judaism for centuries and still hold sway today.

The Power is set in a recognizable world. There is this rich Nigerian boy that lounges around the family pool. A tough London girl that comes from a tricky family. One ambitious American politician. A foster kid with religious parents that hide their true nature.

However, this crucial new force takes root and is able to flourish, causing all of their lives to converge with pretty devastating effect. Teen girls now have this immense physical power. They can cause agonizing pain, even death. With just this small twist of nature, the world resets in drastic fashion.

Naomi Alderman: Awards & Accolades

Alderman's book, The Power won the Women's Prize, For Fiction, in 2017.

Naomi Alderman books have also been nominated for multiple awards, New Writings in the Fantastic was nominated for the British Fantasy Award, Best Anthology, in 2008. The Power was nominated for the RUSA Awards, Science Fiction Award, in 2018. The Future was nominated for the Goodreads Awards, Best Science Fiction, in 2023.

Naomi Alderman: Lists & Other Mentions

• Disobedience was a The Sunday Times: 100 21st-Century Novels to Love Selection in 2019.
• The Power has made several lists including:
  1. Good Housekeeping: 100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors Selection in 2021.
  2. Vox: 19 Best Books from the 2010s Selection in 2019.
  3. President Obama: Favourite Books Selection in 2017.
  4. BBC: Radio Oxford 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die Selection in 2020.
• The Future was a Time Magazine: 100 Must-Read Books Selection in 2023.

Related Authors

Fans of Naomi Alderman also enjoy these authors:

1. Emily St. John Mandel, author of: Station Eleven.
2. Peng Shepherd, author of: The Cartographers.
3. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale Series.
4. N.K. Jemisin, author of the Broken Earth Series.
5. Justin Cronin, author of The Passage Series.
6. Kurt Vonnegut Jr., author of: Slaughterhouse-Five.
7. Aldous Huxley, author of: Brave New World.
8. H.G. Wells, author of: The Time Machine.
9. Iain M. Banks, author of the Culture Series.
10. Robin Sloan, author of the Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore Series.

Naomi Alderman: F.A.Q