Loubna Mrie
Loubna Mrie is a Syrian author and journalist based in New York. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The London Review of Books, and Rolling Stone, among other publications. She has reported extensively on Syria, war, and displacement, bringing together memoir and reportage to examine the personal and political dimensions of conflict. Her debut memoir, Defiance (Viking, 2026), received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and BookPage, and was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air.
Featured Book
Defiane: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria
Like any good Alawite girl, every day at school, Loubna Mrie pledged allegiance to Hafez al-Assad. When she complained about memorizing his speeches for class, she was told to shorten her tongue—without the president, her family believed, the Alawites would be persecuted by the Sunni majority, as they had been for centuries before the Assads came to power. A girl’s role was to obey, not to question. But everything changed in 2011, when the pro-democracy uprisings of the Arab Spring reached Syria. Unable to suppress her curiosity, Loubna attended an anti-government protest. She joined the resistance, risking her life by fearlessly proclaiming her Alawite heritage and, later, as a photojournalist documenting the war for Reuters and other outlets.
Meet Loubna Mrie and get a copy of their book at the 2026 Kentucky Book Festival, Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Joseph-Beth Booksellers.