English Alumna Leyla Brittan ’19 on the Messy and Beautiful Power of Storytelling

Leyla Brittan ’19 spent her years since graduation exploring a range of writing professions, from outdoor sports journalism to screenwriting for film and television, until she realized that her true passion was writing a book of her own. Brittan trusted that fiction would allow her to recreate the all too familiar experiences of navigating intersecting identities, redefining the meaning of love, and dwelling in the discomfort of vulnerability.

Brittan’s journey to discovering her voice as an author began with the short stories she crafted in middle school. She drafted her first book as a high school freshman. The path ultimately led to the creation of her debut novel, “Ros Demir Is Not the One,”which takes inspiration from a short story she wrote during her senior fall semester at Harvard in Professor Laura van den Berg’s creative writing workshop.

The Young Adult novel is a not-quite rom-com that reimagines the classic William Shakespeare play, “Romeo and Juliet.” Through what she views as an unconventional protagonist, Ros Demir, Brittan encourages readers to reflect on their humanity and imperfections.

Read more here.