Mustafa Abubaker (pictured on the left) with actor and comedian, Aziz Ansari
Q. Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing?

I’m a freshman at High PointUniversityin North Carolinabut I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I got into writing as early as the fifth grade when my class was assigned to write a piece on 9/11. My teacher called me in during break time to tell me how great it was and even called my parents at work to tell them about it. Ever since then, I have …

 
The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2012 was awarded to Singapore based Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka for his debut Chinaman (Johnathon Cape).
The $50,000 (around £32k) DSC Prize 2012 was awarded to Shehan Karunatilaka at a ceremony attended by eminent literary figures, renowned authors and a diverse literary audience at this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival.
Ira Pande, Jury chairperson said “The winning title is a brilliant narration of all that is both great and sad about South Asia and in that sense it brings a world to the reader that needs to be seen …

With the launch of The Flying Man (Headline)  this January, Roopa Farooki has published five novels in five years – here are her tips on how she starts a novel, and how she manages to finish what she starts!
What inspires you to write?
Like many writers, I am inspired by what is closest to me – in my case, it’s family, and I’m particularly interested in writing multicultural family dramas, intimate stories of relationships which span continents and generations. I find endless inspiration in this area – there are so many …

A River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh is just one of the titles shortlisted
An unprecedented seven novels have been shortlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize, Chair Judge Razia Iqbal announced today.
Speaking at a press conference at Man Group offices in London, Ms. Iqbal revealed that because of the strength of contemporary fiction coming out of Asia, the decision had been made to increase the number of writers on the shortlist from the usual five to seven.
The shortlisted titles are as follows:
· JAMIL AHMAD, Pakistan – The Wandering Falcon …

Q. Please tell us a bit about yourself and how you launched into a writing career?
I had always been surrounded by books and writing. Grandpa, dad, some aunts and uncles all lawyers were all involved in writing and editing Law Journals in India so from birth books were part of my upbringing. I used to write for fun when I worked full time as a teacher and did a Saturday morning leisure class on writing as a hobby. When I took early retirement from my post as Principal Teacher I …

On the release of her recent novel, Perfectly Untraditional, The Asian Writer caught up with author and poet Sweta Vikram

The Muslim Writers Awards was celebrated in an evening of glitz and glamour at the Shakespeare’s Globe in London (November 22, 2011).
Guests included notable authors Aamer Hussein, Roopa Farooki, Irfan Master and Shelina Janmohamed amongst wider literary and publishing industry figures.
Shahriar Mandanipour won the published novel category for Censoring an Iranian Love Story whilst Far From Home by Na’ima B Robert triumphed in the Children’s book category. Zkthepoet and Ahmed Masoud were declared as winners in the unpublished poetry and novel categories respectively. But despite the big names in the …

Commonwealth Foundation is inviting entries for the new Commonwealth Short Story Prize.  The prizes are part of a new initiative, Commonwealth Writers, an online hub to inspire, inform and create a community of writers from all over the world.
Chair of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, Bernardine Evaristo said:
This wonderful prize will turn the spotlight on the increasingly popular short story form and aims to support and encourage short story writers worldwide.
As one of the Commonwealth Foundation’s culture programmes, Commonwealth Writers works in partnership with international literary organisations, the wider cultural industries and civil …