Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
Firstly, congratulations on winning Best Short Fiction at the British Fantasy Awards . What was your reaction to the announcement? I was very surprised to make the short list and grateful to everyone who nominated me. To be honest, it’s not yet sunk in. What was your experience of writing competitions prior to this win? and …
Horror, science fiction and fantasy. Currently there’s a plethora of it on the small and big screen, such as Game of Thrones, Westworld and Arrival. Yet there remains an entrenched literary snobbery when such subject matter is between the covers despite Andrew Michael Hurley’s gothic novel, The Loney, winning the Costa Prize and Kelly Link’s …
When I look at South Asian books in a store, their covers make me think: how many of these books can actually be about sad, pretty South Asian women? I see spices, mangoes, arches… but what is the book about? A cover is supposed to indicate what to expect from the story, the genre and …
We’re thrilled to announce this year’s winning stories of The Asian Writer Short Story Prize 2016. First prize – The Swim by Jamilah Ahmed Second prize – The Other Side of the Bridge by Serena Patel Third prize – Saviour by Meera Betab Stories on this year’s shortlist included: Ninety Days by Ashok Patel The …
A new play exploring cultural identity through the lens of a post-apocalyptic world opens at Freedom Studios next week. Tajinder Singh Hayer’s latest work, North Country follows the journey of three young people as they deal with the aftermath of a bloody plague. As the trio embark on rebuilding their lives over a forty year …
Forty years may have passed since her ground-breaking report, The Art Britain Ignores, and yet it’s ‘extraordinary’ that the issues around diversity and the arts remain as ‘sharp, troubling and vibrant as ever,’ Naseem Khan has said. The comments were made during her opening address delivered at Curve Theatre’s ‘Diversity in British Theatre’ conference, which …
Six new and emerging writers have made the shortlist of a national competition celebrating unpublished fiction by female BME writers. The SI Leeds Literary Prize announced their shortlist of six writers this week at the Rich Mix Arts Centre. The shortlist includes: Dark Chapter – Winnie M Li Deadly Sacrifice – Stella Ahmadou Marmite and …
Novelist Tahmima Anam has made the shortlist of the BBC National Short Story Award. She joins Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel, poet and author Lavinia Greenlaw, short story writer KJ Orr, and Claire-Louise Bennett in an all-female shortlist of the prestigious competition. The shortlist of five stories was announced last week during BBC Radio 4’s …
Q. The collection, Saris and a Single Malt really works as a whole piece, with each individual poem moving you along the journey from your mother being unwell, her death, to coming to terms with her death. Was the poetry always with you during this tumultuous time? Poetry and pain never left my side—from the …
Interview with Mary Mount, a fiction editor at Viking, part of Penguin Random House UK. Mary has published authors including John le Carré, Hisham Matar, Colm Tóibín, Naomi Alderman and Nina Stibbe. Q. We’re really excited about the #WriteNow initiative. Why is Penguin Random House reaching out to marginalised writers? Books and writers are …