We’re book-ending our tenth birthday with an all-day festival on Saturday October 20th 2018 at The Wesley in London.
The Asian Writer will once again bring together the contents of its website – interviews, masterclasses and features on literary trends – in a live format. The festival aims to support and encourage writers, by offering advice and inspiration and seeks to raise the profile of emerging voices.
Featuring: Vaseem Khan, Gautam Malkani, Deepa Anappara, Winnie M Li, Ayisha Malik, Amer Anwar, CG Menon, Shivanee Ramlochan, Susmita Bhattacharya, Emma Smith-Barton, Rukhsana Yasmin as well as emerging new voices.
Here are 10 reasons why you should book your tickets to The Asian Writer Festival:
1) You’ll be supporting your fellow authors. Writing a book is tough, but sending it out into the world is tougher still. We can do amazing things by supporting each other’s writing and that means buying one another’s work, attending literature festivals who showcase such writers.
2) Vaseem Khan is our keynote speaker. Having written his first novel at seventeen, Vaseem went on to write several novels and faced twenty years of rejection before his best-selling Inspector Chopra series was published. He’s determined, persistent and will tell you all to do the same.
3) There’ll be masterclasses and workshops. Susmita Bhattacharya is delivering our short story masterclass. Preetha Leela Chockalingham will be doing a masterclass on finding your voice. If you’re looking to learn your craft in a supportive, nurturing environment, this is the place to do it in.
4) Lots of writers will be there. Be part of the community. Meet like-minded individuals. Find your tribe.
5) There’ll be agents in the room and you’ll have your chance to put your questions to them. Want to know how to land an agent? What they actually do? Come along and find out. There’s even a chance to book an agent one-to-one.
6) Newham Bookshop will be there. Your chance to drool over beautiful jacket covers and discover your next read.
7) There’s a raffle. The prizes are incredible. There’s an entire box set of books by Abir Mukherjee, poetry mentoring with Rishi Dastidar, back issues of Mslexia, The Asian Writer Celebrating 10 Years collection x 3, and a digital subscription to Writing Magazine.
8) No festival is a festival without a goody bag. Our bulging bag is filled with gifts including a copy of Writing Magazine, ALCS Author Earnings survey, a £5 voucher to spend at Dahlia Publishing and lots more, all in a gorgeous colour-me-in peacock tote (worth the ticket price alone).
9) There’s water, notepads and pens courtesy of The Wesley. Don’t lie to me. I know you’re secretly hoarding a branded pen collection.
10) Our festival is a celebration of South Asian literature and British Asian voices. Come and celebrate with us. We’re seriously not going to ever do this event again.
Tickets to The Asian Writer Festival can be booked online at Eventbrite.
