AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Author
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0
PRO: Author of the acclaimed novel The Kite Runner (the first book to be written in English by an Afghan), which deals with ethnic tensions in Afghanistan. The film adaptation is due to be released this year, as is Hosseini's second novel.
CON: The Kite Runner is only his first novel, which never reached the top of the U.S. bestseller list.