Knopf Canada announced today (Wednesday) that it has signed Ayaan Hirsi Ali for her next book, which is as yet unnamed and due out in Spring 2010.
Ali's previous book, a memoir called Infidel, was an international bestseller and translated into 33 languages, according to a press release from Random House Canada (Knopf Canada is a Random House Canada imprint).
Her new book will likely stir more controversy around the Somali-born Ali, who has been an outspoken critic of Islamic fundamentalism in both Holland, where she was a member of parliament, and the United States, where she now lives.
According to Louise Dennys, executive publisher of The Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, the book "will be a blend of personal narrative and reportage, weaving together Ayaan Hirsi Ali's ongoing story, including her reconciliation with her father who disowned her, addressing the situation of girls and women in the world today, and speaking openly about her own efforts to reconcile Islamic and Western values. She explores why Muslim women agree to submit to a world ruled by men, and Islam's obsession with virginity, excision, and the honor code, as well as her own relationship with sex and 'dishonor'".
Ali lives under constant threat for her outspoken beliefs. When Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was assassinated by an Islamic extremist in 2004, the killer used a knife to pin a death threat against Ali to his victim's body. When Ali spoke in Toronto at a Grano Speakers Series event in 2006, the venue had to be changed at the last minute to ensure her safety.
