Debut author Sita Brahmachari has won one of the most valuable and prestigious children’s book awards in the country for her striking coming-of-age novel about life, death, friendship and love. Artichoke Hearts was announced as the winner of the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize 2011 by Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne at an evening ceremony at Waterstone’s …
Commonwealth Writers Prize – Regional Shortlist
Anjali Joseph’s Saraswati Park and Manu Joseph’s Serious Men have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Best First Book Prize for the South Asia and Europe Region. Leila Abouleila”s Lyrics Alley has made the shortlist in the Best Book category. (February 11, 2011) The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, internationally recognised for its role in celebrating ground-breaking …
Rekha Waheed
1. Please tell our readers a bit more about yourself. I’m a modern Muslim woman from Brit-Bengali background who hopes to change the stereotypes and misconceptions about Asian women in the cosmopolitan world. I grew up in an England with novels that catered largely for the mainstream reader. The few British Asians novels that existed …
A Writer Lost and Found
by Lynn Mitchell When I first set up Linen Press, I was a newcomer to publishing and, without an established reputation, relied on unsolicited submissions for possible publications. At first, those that came in were disappointing; I had a feeling I was the last port of call for novels that had been to every other …
Puneet Bhandal’s Bollywood Dream
Could you please tell us about yourself and how you got involved with writing? I started my journalistic career as a Bollywood journalist – I was Entertainments Editor for Eastern Eye in its early days – and I still spend a lot of time writing features for magazines when I am not working on my …
Kishwar Desai
The Asian Writer talks to this year’s Costa First Book Winner and author of Witness the Night, Kishwar Desai
Are Asian Writers still on the outside looking in?
HM Naqvi‘s debut novel, Homeboy became the first novel to win the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature this weekend (January 23, 2011). The prize – which was launched ahead of the DSC South Asian Literature Festival in London – celebrates original fiction from the sub continent. I wouldn’t be least surprised if you have …
HM Naqvi wins the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
HM Naqvi, author of Homeboy has become the first author to win the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature (January 23, 2011). The coming of age novel about three Pakistani friends living in New York City pre and post 9/11 was one of the favourites to take the £32,000 ($50,000) prize. Though little has been …
Witness the Night wins Costa First Novel Award
Kishwar Desai wins the First Novel Award for Witness the Night, which explores India’s hidden female infanticide and the first book of a series featuring the unconventional female protagonist, Simran Singh (January 4, 2011) The story takes place in a small town in the heart of India. A young girl, barely alive, is found in …
The Fashion Parade
He was glad he had a Thai-Indian girlfriend. On military leaves he didn’t have to go back to the States anymore where the war followed him everywhere. Daily, you could see something about Iraq. It was all around. Americans protesting on the streets, politicians debating on the television, columnists writing in newspapers, the president giving …