Published in 2023
8 hours and 11 minutes
Deepa Anappara grew up in Kerala, southern India, and worked as a journalist in cities including Mumbai and Delhi. Her debut novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and NPR. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and was shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Indian Literature.
Taymour Soomro was born in Lahore, Pakistan. He has worked as a corporate solicitor in London and Milan, an agricultural estate manager in rural Pakistan, and a publicist for a luxury fashion brand in London. His short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, and he is the author of the novel Other Names for Love.
What is this book about?
Filled with empathy and wisdom, personal experiences and creative inspiration, this is a vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of colour.
What if we reconsidered our assumptions about how fiction should be written? And can we then apply our discoveries to both what we read and how we read? This book explores these questions and encourages us into a more inclusive conversation about storytelling, featuring:
- Taymour Soomro on resisting rigid stories about who you are
- Madeleine Thien on how writing builds the room in which it can exist
- Amitava Kumar on why authenticity isn’t a license we carry in our wallets
- Tahmima Anam on giving herself permission to be funny
- Ingrid Rojas Contreras on the bodily challenge of writing about trauma
- Zeyn Joukhadar on queering English and the power of refusing to translate ourselves
- Kiese Laymon on hearing that no one wants to read the story that you want to write
- Deepa Anappara on writing even through conditions that impede the creation of art
Plus essays from Tiphanie Yanique, Xiaolu Guo, Jamil Jan Kochai, Vida Cruz-Borja, Femi Kayode, Nadifa Mohamed in conversation with Leila Aboulela, Myriam Gurba, Mohammed Hanif and Sharlene Teo.
Read by Deepa Anaparra, Taymour Soomro, Madeleine Thien, Amitava Kumar, Tahmima Anam, Tiphanie Yanique, Marisol Ramirez, Cindy Kay, Zeyn Joukhadar, Jamil Jan Kochai, Nic Villasenor, Cary Hite, Simone McIntyre, Susan Nezami, Carolina Hoyos, Aaron Goodson, Mohammed Hanif and Mirai.
