Leïla Houari, born in 1958 in Casablanca, is a Moroccan writer, journalist, playwright, poet, and restaurateur. Her work reflects her experience of immigration in Belgium and the tug-of-war between her Moroccan culture and that of Belgium. She has also published plays and leads writing workshops for Moroccan women and children from immigrant backgrounds. Leïla Houari spent her childhood in Fes before joining her father in Belgium in 1965 at the age of seven. This period of her life was marked by the discovery of Arabic literature, notably "One Thousand and One Nights," through French, her adopted language. Despite her passion for theater, her father wanted her to pursue university studies. Despite her academic talent, an identity crisis led her to return to Morocco in 1977, interrupting her studies. Back in Belgium, she became involved in Hajitkoum, a movement of young people grappling with similar identity questions. This experience inspired her first novel "Zeïda from Nowhere," which became a symbol for a generation of immigrants torn between multiple identities. This novel, which addresses exclusion and racism, won the Laurence Trân Foundation Prize in 1986. In the 1990s, Leïla dedicated herself to literacy workshops for Maghreb women at the Étangs Noirs center in Brussels, leading to the publication of "Women with a Thousand Doors" and "And from the City, I Speak," created with Moroccan children. In 1985, she staged the play "Nous l'immigration," exploring themes from her novels "Zeïda from Nowhere" and "When You See the Sea," the latter dealing with love for roots despite rejection by natives in the country of origin. In addition to her literary work, Leïla Houari is a journalist for Tribune immigrée and leads literacy workshops in Paris and Brussels. In 1996, she moved to Paris where she opened the restaurant "À la Vierge de la Réunion" in the 20th arrondissement with her partner, taking a twelve-year break from her writing career. She later returned to writing with a collection of short stories, "Marie-Louise's Sorrow," and a novel, "The One You Saw."