Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
by Shibani Lal Revathi makes herself a cup of tea. She rarely drinks tea nowadays, preferring the bitter hit of an espresso each morning. However today she feels – she doesn’t quite know what she feels, but she knows that the hiss of the coffee machine will not comfort her. She glances around her kitchen. …
The Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival 2015 has announced its programme. In its ninth year, it is the only UK Festival dedicated to pan-Asian writing and will include talks from some of the most exciting names in literature including British-Chinese author Xinran, Turkey’s bestselling author Elif Shafak, award-winning Indian novelist Anuradha Roy and one of …
In 2008 I completed my first crime novel and sent the manuscript to twelve London agencies. I was delighted to receive interest from four and quickly signed with a marque crime-specialist agency where I began a painful journey of re-drafting the novel over the next two years. But unfortunately my agent decided the novel was …
Q. What are the highlights of this year’s Inside Out Festival? Far too many to mention! The festival is a snapshot of the year round programmes we’ve created here at Curve to nurture and develop talent in the region. Every single show stems from a long-term initiative we have here for artists and communities, so …
If you follow genre fiction at all you’ve probably seen the latest furore around the Hugo awards. If you’ve been reading anything about the whole sad puppy debacle you may well be feeling that science fiction as a genre is not ready or willing to be diverse and to be inclusive and welcoming. That isn’t …
Q. Tell us about your debut novel, The Normal State of Mind? The Normal State of Mind is a story of love and friendship. The story revolves around the friendship between Dipali, a widow and Moushumi, a lesbian, and the issues they face in their lives. It is set in 1990s India, the time around …
Many years ago, DIPNET ran a poll on their website. It asked visitors ‘Is publishing a white, middle class ghetto?’ with the overall majority result always in favour of yes. I remember it well because the poll was on the site for about a year, and nor the site nor the poll ever seemed to …
by Adrienne Loftus Parkins To paraphrase George Santayana, those who do not learn about history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. This phrase kept coming to mind when reading two novels recently. Damon Galgut’s Arctic Summer and A Season for Martyrs by Bina Shah both take past events as their themes. Both are fascinating character …
reviewed by Jane Wallace There is more than one bad character in this darkly beautiful novel: the term could equally be applied to the city that forms its backdrop, Delhi, as well as the love interest to which it ostensibly refers. With her mother deceased and her estranged father living in Singapore, twenty-year old Idha is …
On arriving at HeHo, the nearest airport to Inle, we were met by Major who took us straight to their pier and our boat for the journey to the monastery. A sense of calm befell me. I felt I was back where I belonged. The hustle and bustle of Yangon and the trials and tribulations felt a …