Raising the profile of South Asian writers since 2007
An Indian poet has been named the winner of a major literary prize. Sohini Basak, of Barrackpore, has been named the winner of the 2016 Beverly Series for her debut collection of poetry, We Live in the Newness of Small Differences. The 2016 Beverley Series was open to original manuscripts in any genre by any …
A new award celebrating the best book by a writer of colour has announced its longlist. The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour seeks to champion books by British and British resident BAME writers with the overall winner presented with a prize of £1,000. The inaugural longlist offers an …
Zafar Anjum “This year, I was disappointed with fiction. Whatever few novels I read, they did not move me enough, except for Isa Kamari’s two novels, Tweet (that I published under Kitaab) and Kiswah, which I read in manuscript (to be published in English translation in 2017). For non-fiction, I immensely enjoyed re-visiting two of Amitav Ghosh’s works, …
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 …
Six new and emerging writers have made the shortlist of a national competition celebrating unpublished fiction by female BME writers.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 …
What are the experiences of a generation born to immigrant parents in the UK? A collection of personal essays edited by Nikesh Shukla and crowdfunded via Unbound explore race in Britain through the eyes of a new wave of creatives: actors, poets, artists and novelists. This smorgasbord of opinion and experiences is refreshing. Each writer …
I admit I was reluctant to pick up A. A. Dhand’s debut novel, Streets of Darkness, even more so, to pen this review. I’ve dipped my toe into the genre of crime fiction before only to find the writing didn’t appeal or to lose myself literally in all the action. But having published Dhand’s blog, …