Mona Chalabi From Iraqi Immigrant to Pulitzer Prize Winner

Parents are Iraqi immigrants

“We did it!” exclaimed Mona Chalabi, a 36-year-old British-Iraqi journalist and artist, on the night of the 2023 Pulitzer Prizes on May 8. Her joy was understandable, as she had just become the second Iraqi to win a Pulitzer Prize after Zaha Hadid, as well as one of the few Arabs in history.

Chalabi made quite a splash in the journalism world this summer, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Illustration and Commentary. Her winning photo series, “9 Ways to Visualize Jeff Bezos’ Wealth,” delves into the vast fortune of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, exploring the economic power he wields through insightful statistics and analysis.

Journalist Mona Chalabi is also an artist, a technology expert and even a financier. Photo: William Mulally

When the piece was published in the New York Times, Chalabi took to social media to share her excitement, while also thanking her creative team for their contributions to the project. “I am so grateful to each and every one of you… I wrote this piece during the darkest winter when my heart was completely broken. For me, gratitude is greater than pride,” Chalabi shared.

But who is Mona Chalabi? Let’s take a look at this talented journalist and her rather unusual background. Raised in London, UK by Iraqi immigrant parents, she overcame her difficulties to graduate from the University of Edinburgh and earn a master’s degree from the Paris Institute of Political Studies on International Security.

New York Times contributor

Chalabi's career didn't actually start in journalism, but with positions at the Bank of England, the International Organization for Migration…, before joining the Guardian US as data editor.

Chalabi while working on one of his illustrated journalism pieces. Photo: Instagram/Chalabi

Chalabi's unique approach to simplifying complex data through illustration and audio has seen her work regularly appear in The New York Times, The New Yorker as a contributor, as well as being featured in other prestigious art and journalism exhibitions around the world.

In 2020, Chalabi's “100 New Yorkers” was featured at the Westfield World Trade Center and she has received numerous awards, including the Shorty Award for Best Social Media Journalist and a spot on Fortune magazine's “40 Under 40” list.

Learn how to engage readers from Chalabi

Chalabi’s talents extend beyond writing, as she has produced video series and documentaries for Netflix, the BBC, and National Geographic, including a 2016 documentary series called “Vagina Dispatches,” which was nominated for the 38th Emmy Award for News and Documentary. Chalabi has also worked as a host, data scientist, and featured on major talk shows.

Bezos' real estate holdings are larger than Central Park, the Pentagon, Walt Disney World, and the orange acreage in the United States combined.

Chalabi’s modern and accessible journalism shows that engaging readers in the new era requires more than just the written word. In her career, she has also studied economics, society, police brutality, and viral transmission.

Featured image of the work “9 Ways to Visualize Jeff Bezos' Wealth”.

Chalabi's victory and very active journalism career are also great proof that success can still come to anyone in journalism, if we are truly creative and have love for our work!

Huy Hoang

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/mona-chalabi--tu-nguoi-goc-nhap-cu-iraq-den-giai-thuong-pulitzer-post252249.html