Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
Azma Dar is currently working on her debut novel aswell as a play based on a true story set in WW2, Noor, for which she received an Arts Council grant in 2006. Her first play Chaos, the story of a Muslim family, set in the aftermath of 9/11, was read as one of ten pieces in Kali …
As the new school term gets underway, TAWP caught up with a writer who’ll be spending most of his year in schools. Bali Rai has a real commitment to get children to read. For Bali, the greatest thing about being a writer is for a young reader to say ‘your book made me want to …
Imran Ahmad’s Unimagined (2007) is the beguiling memoir of a Muslim boy born in Pakistan, who moves to London aged two and grows up to embrace the West. The endearing narrator recalls his childhood in a series of vivid snapshots. TAWP caught up with Imran Ahmad… Why did you feel the urge to write this book, and …
Bitter Sweets is a wonderful debut story about love and the complexities of family deceit, stretching into three generations. Set in London on the 1980’s and 90’s it is an addictive read, the characters incredibly real and enticing. Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for News Writers, TAWP speaks to Roopa Farooki about the book which …
Ishq and Mushq is a sensuous generational novel about a Sikh mother whose secret past corrodes her life with tragic consequences for all. Spanning the second half of the twentieth century, and moving between India, Africa and Britain this moving and funny family saga dramatizes how Ishq can redeem and compromise and Mushq can seduce …
Credit: Ed Kashi
Forget about the authors and their books who claim that writing is impossible, that getting through the slush pile is impossible and getting published is impossible! There needs to be positivity to enable creativity and Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer is a reassuring and comforting friend. Full of good, sensible and practical advice. Brande’s advice is over seventy years old …
If you missed Desi DNA when it was on first time round then now is the time to play catch up! Nikki Bedi talks to Sarfraz Manzoor, Greetings from Bury Park (2007), the controversial Nirpal Singh Dhaliwal, Tourism (2006) and Gautam Malkani, Londonstani (2006) to discuss Asian writers and authenticity. Should we play the race card …