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Biography
Jordanian-American

Norma Khouri

1970

Jordanian-American author whose bestselling memoir Forbidden Love (published in the US as Honor Lost, 2003) — claiming to tell the true story of her best friend's honour killing in Amman, Jordan — was exposed as a fabrication by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2004. The scandal became one of the most prominent literary hoaxes of the early twenty-first century and raised questions about the publishing industry's verification of memoir claims.

Past sales0
PeriodContemporary
NationalityJordanian-American
1. Biography

A short life of the author

Norma Khouri (born Norma Bagain Toliopoulos, c. 1970) is a Jordanian-American writer whose memoir Forbidden Love (2003, published in the US as Honor Lost, Atria Books) became a bestseller in Australia and internationally before being exposed as largely fabricated.

The book claimed to tell the true story of Khouri’s best friend “Dalia,” who was stabbed to death by her father in an honour killing in Amman after falling in love with a Christian soldier. The book was endorsed by human rights organisations and was used in educational settings.

In 2004, journalist Malcolm Knox of the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Khouri had not lived in Jordan for most of her adult life, that key claims were fictitious, and that she had an extensive history of fraud. The publisher withdrew the book from sale. The scandal became a case study in the publishing industry’s failure to fact-check memoirs.

Collecting Khouri

Forbidden Love / Honor Lost (2003, Random House Australia / Atria Books) first editions are collectible as documents of literary scandal. Recalled and withdrawn editions have a niche market among collectors of literary hoaxes and controversies.