WOM EN I N LI TERA TURE FESTI V A L 2021
Gender V oi ces
Triggering inclusive conversations & celebrating works of literature by women www.anankemag.com
WFL2021 Ananke?s Festival of Women in Literature is a celebration of the literary genius, creative journeys and lived experiences of the female gender. Marking Women?s History Month and Women?s Day, the 3-day event starts on March 30th and concludes on April 1st to also observe World Book and Copyright Day. Taking a deep dive into patrilineal cultures, their impact and role on the diversity and creativity of women writers, the festival aims to trigger conversations on the intersections of gender equality, feminism, women?s rights, migration, politics, and society on literature. Looking at literature from a global perspective, the impact and role of translations to expand the scope as well as reach of audience and readership cannot be ignored. From Dostoevsky to Gabriel Garcia Marquez ? readers have enjoyed many adventures. And while we read the sublime with relish, we fail and many a times do not acknowledge the role of female translators, their names and efforts long forgotten. That said, there is yet another yawning gap as far as translated works of female writers is concerned. What a mere handful of women literati have in common such as the Sub-continent?s Ismat Chughtai or Arab World's Nawal El Sadawi, is that their works have been translated. The world has yet to be exposed to their literary genius. The event plans to create conversations about how literature produced by women can be highlighted, promoted & celebrated globally via translations, digital documentation and more. Through the festival, the primary aim is not just to celebrate creativity of female fiction and non-fiction writers, it is to highlight female literary history and showcase ? many a times ? invisibilized women writers in cultural festival line-ups. With the goal to strengthen women?s creative voices, the event plans to encourage women
and girls to engage, network and avail all learning opportunities presented throughout the festival. Featuring an array of panel discussions, readings, and workshops and a lot more, women and girls ? from aspiring to professional writers, will have an opportunity to interact and participate in enlightening discussions. Abou t An an k e | Realizing an Inclusive Future Ananke is a digital platform empowering women through awareness, advocacy and education. It was launched in 2014 as a digital media entity documenting women's achievements, showcasing them as role models for aspiring women and girls to emulate. Ananke is a forum that aims to highlight global issues and topics with a gender lens. Our in-depth articles, news and interviews focus on issues including women?s health and well-being, gender equality, women in tech, inclusion and sustainability, safety, climate change, education, care work and more. The platform also publishes special editions on special occasions, our previous works have focused topics including: Day of the Girl, Women?s Day and Women?s Economic Empowerment. These digital editions can be viewed on the ISSUU platform. Ananke?s flagship program, Empower, is a digital internship and capacity building initiative launched in 2016. The program has trained and mentored more than 70 girls from all over the world including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Cameroon, Morocco, Pakistan, India, the UAE, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Russia, Australia, Bahamas and more. The platform has been nominated twice by the World Summit on Information Society Prizes (2019 & 2020) for its digitally inclusive work on gender.
VISION Celebrat ing Visionary Wom en by Creat ing HERst ories
Ananke?s aim is to encourage women?s economic empowerment by raising awareness about the importance ofequal participation in the technology revolution. The platform also strives to trigger as well as engage in conversations focusing inclusion and gender in every sphere of society in digital space. Most importantly, Ananke offers a wide array of capacity building and leadership programs with a vision to create a talent-pool of female trailblazers. The platform focuses on four main areas with a vision to transform aspiring women and girls into changemakers and future leaders, participating in modern, knowledge-based society. Access: The platform offers a digital space where girls engage in meaningful dialogue on issues with a gender lens and learn the importance of diversity and inclusion. Resear ch : Ananke?s interns and followers have access to our large database of in-depth stories, articles, research work and interviews on gender, the SDGs, leveraging tech for good & more, developed and produced by field experts. Sk ills: Those participting in our programs work in a diversified virtual environment ; focusing on topics like digital media, women?s issues, gender equality, journalism, ICTs and much more. Mentorship is another key part of our program. Participants are connected with mentors through Ananke?s partnerships with organizations like WomeninTechPk (a community of 7000+ tech leaders), Women?s Digital League, Circle Women and Women Engineers Pakistan. They also get an opportunity to watch female leaders talk about their journey through our VIMEO Channel Power Talk. Leader sh ip: Through Ananke?s array of programs, women and girls are given opportunities to hone their skills through critical thinking, use of digital technologies, 21st century skills, capacity and confidence building, peer mentoring, working as teams and much more. A diverse environment helps them gain confidence and acquire a very broad vision.
M EET THE WLF2021 TEAM
Sabin Muzaffar - Founder
Mehr F Husain - Founder
Executive Editor, Ananke - www.anankemag.com
Zuka Books - www.zukabooks.com
WLF 2021 Organizer | Producer
WLF2021 Event Partner
SPECIAL THANKS
Naima Rashid
Kirthi Jayakumar
Taiba Abbas
Aekta Kapoor
Nida Usman Chaudhary
Laaleen Sukhera
Book l et Desi gn & Content Sabin M uzaffar I mages Pixabay U nsplash Images shared by part icipant s
EVENT SCHEDULE # W LF20 21
DAY 1
W omen in Lit erat ure Fest ival 20 21 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
Openi ng Ceremony 11:00 AM-11:15 AM UAE | 07:00 AM-07:15 AM GMT
K eynote |
On Decolonialism, I ntersectionality &
Literature 11:20 A M - 11:40 A M UA E | 0 7:20 A M - 0 7:40 A M GM T Panelists names are in alphabetical order
Gu est Speak er Dr Diana J. Fox, PhD M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Panel |
Women's Literary History: 100 Years Through A Gender Lens 11:50 AM-12:35 PM UAE | 07:50 AM-08:35 AM GMT Gu est Speak er s Faiqa Mansab, Lakshana Palat, Taiba Abbas M oder at or Anmol Irfan
Tal k i ng Book s|
Red Drapes And Other Stories
Nwa Rizvi (Author), Taiba Abbas (Publisher)
12:45 AM-01:15 PM UAE | 08:45 AM-09:15 AM GMT
Panel |
Translating Women: TheI mpact of Gender And Translated Work 01:25 PM-02:10 PM UAE | 09:25 AM-10:10 AM GMT Gu est Speak er s Dr. Amina Yaqin, Mina Malik, Dr. Nukhbah Langah, +1 M oder at or Mehr F Husain
Panel |
Post- colonial Literature& Women
02:20 PM-03:05 PM UAE | 10:20 AM-11:05 AM GMT Gu est Speak er s Aanchal Malhotra, Dr. Amin Yaqin, Saadia Gardezi, Soniah Kamal M oder at or Mehr F Husain
Fi resi de Ch at|
I n Conversation
03:15 PM-04:00 PM UAE | 11:15 AM-12:00 PM GMT Gu est Speak er Sheela Reddy M oder at or Moni Mohsin
Recor ded session : Th ese session s can on ly be view ed on An an ke's Facebook page: w w w.f acebook .com / an an kem ag
Zoom session : gu est s can at t en d Zoom session via lin k pr ovided t p r egist er ed at t en dees. Th is w ill also be live-st r eam ed on An an ke's Facebook page
# W LF20 21
DAY 1
W omen in Lit erat ure Fest ival 20 21 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
Tal k i ng Book s |
TheEmancipation Of Farzana Siddiqui
04:10 PM-04:40 PM UAE | 12:10 PM-12:40 PM GMT Gu est Speak er : Radhika Maira Tabrez (Author) M oder at or s Fatima Omar, Shahenda ElSayed
Panel |
I ntersections Of Gender Equality, Feminism, Women?s Rights, Migration, Politics, PeaceAnd Society On Literature 04:50 PM-05:35 PM UAE | 12:50 PM-01:35 PM GMT Gu est Speak er s Soniah Kamal, Radhika Tabrez, Mandy Sanghera, Shazaf Haider, Yousra Samir M oder at or Kirthi Jayakumar
Panel |
Political Literature: Women With Their Literary
Swords 05:45 PM-06:30 PM UAE | 01:45 AM-02:30 AM GMT Gu est Speak er s Anupama Jain, Arpita Das, Mahnaz Rehman, Zahra Hameed M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Fi resi de Ch at + Tal k i ng Book s |
I n Conversation
06:40 PM-07:40 PM UAE | 02:40 PM-03:40 PM GMT Gu est Speak er Leonora Miano M oder at or Dr. Amina Yaqin
Fi resi de Ch at + Tal k i ng Book s | 07:50 PM-08:50 PM UAE | 03:50 PM-04:50 PM GMT Gu est Speak er Nathalie Etoke M oder at or Dr. Amina Yaqin
Fi resi de Ch at |
I n Conversation
09:00 PM-09:30 PM UAE | 05:00 PM-05:30 PM GMT Gu est Speak er Phyllis Chesler M oder at or Mandy Sanghera
I n Conversation
EVENT SCHEDULE # W LF20 21
DAY 2
W omen in Lit erat ure Fest ival 20 21 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Day 2 Openi ng 11:0 0 A M -11:0 5 A M U A E | 0 7:0 0 A M -0 7:0 5 A M G M T
K eynote |
Changing TheNarrative
11:0 5 A M -11:25 A M U A E | 0 7:0 5 A M -0 7:25 A M G M T
Panelists names are in alphabetical order
Gu est Speak er s Sutapa Basu M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Tal k i ng Book s|
Skyfall
11:30 A M -12:0 0 PM U A E | 0 7:30 A M -0 8:0 0 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Saba Karim Khan (Author)
M oder at or Taiba Abbas
Panel |
Rediscovering LiteratureUnder A Gender Lens
12:0 5 A M -12:50 PM U A E | 0 8:0 5 A M -0 8:50 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Amrita Mukherjee, Arpita Das, Piyusha Vir, Sabdezar Irfan M oder at or Nida Usman Chaudhary
Publ i sh er's Corner|
Zubaan Books
0 1:0 0 PM -0 1:45 PM U A E | 0 9:0 0 A M -0 9:45 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Ameena Saiyid, Mehr F Husain, Taiba Abbas M oder at or TBD
Speci al Ev ent|
Joy of Urdu
0 2:0 0 PM -0 2:30 PM U A E | 10 :0 0 A M -10 :30 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Zarminae Ansari
Panel |
TheFemaleLiterati: Documenting HERstories
0 2:35 PM -0 3:20 PM U A E | 10 :35 A M -11:20 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Amrita Mukherjee, Faiqa Mansab, Kirthi Jayakumar, Mini Shivakumar Menon, Piyusha Vir M oder at or Radhika Maira Tabrez
Panel |
Authors' AlliancePakistan
0 3:30 PM -0 4:15 PM U A E | 11:30 A M -12:15 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Laaleen Sukhera, Mehr F Husain, Nida Usman Chaudhary, Sara Naveed M oder at or Awais Khan
K eynote |
Rural Realities
0 4:25 PM -0 4:45 PM U A E | 12:25 PM -12:45 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Aysha Baqir
Panel |
Women's Voices, Lost in Translation
0 4:50 PM -0 5:35 PM U A E | 12:50 A M -0 1:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Naima Rashid, Rabbania Shirjeel, Zarminae Ansari M oder at or (TBD)
Pen.Paper.Publ i sh |
A Writer's Publishing Journey
0 5:45 PM -0 6:15 PM U A E | 0 1:45 PM -0 2:15 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Deepti Menon, Karen Osman, Lakshana Palat M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Pen.Paper.Publ i sh |
Seagull Books
0 6:20 PM -0 6:50 PM U A E | 0 2:20 PM -0 2:50 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Sunandini Banerjee M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Speci al Ev ent |
Showcasing Seagull School of Publishing
0 6:50 PM -0 7:15 PM U A E | 0 2:50 PM -0 3:15 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Sunandini Banerjee, Bishan Samaddar
Tal k i ng Book s |
TheBurning Champa
0 7:20 PM -0 7:50 PM U A E | 0 3:20 PM -0 3:50 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Zahra Hameed M oder at or Mehr F Husain
Panel |
Silenceof theLambs: Traversing Through Gender, Violence, SilenceAnd ?Heroic Masculinity?I n Fiction 0 7:55 PM -0 8:40 PM U A E | 0 3:55 PM -0 4:40 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Mahnaz Rehman, Farzana Doctor, Aysha Baqir, Shazaf Fatima Haider M oder at or Mehr F Husain
Panel |
Editors As Enablers Of TheLiterary World
0 8:50 PM -0 9:35 PM U A E | 0 4:50 PM -0 5:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Rosemarie Hudson, Wajiha Hyder, Mehvash Amin, M oder at or Naima Rashid
Panel |
I nclusiveRegency Narratives I n TheDigital Era
0 9:50 PM -10 :35 PM U A E | 0 5:50 PM -0 6:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Amanda-Rae Prescott, Amy Patterson, Bianca Hernandez, Christina Boyd M oder at or Laaleen Sukhera
EVENT SCHEDULE # W LF20 21
DAY 3 K eynote |
W omen in Lit erat ure Fest ival 20 21 | A pril 1st , 20 21
TheFutureof LiteratureI n theAgeOf Technology
11:0 0 A M -11:20 A M U A E | 0 7:0 0 A M -0 7:20 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Ana Serrano Telleria Panelists names are in alphabetical order
Speci al Ev ent|
On Her Blindness
11:25 A M -11:55 PM U A E | 0 7:25 A M -0 7:55 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Rashin Choudhry M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Panel |
Bloggers' Bay
12:0 0 A M -12:45 PM U A E | 0 8:0 0 A M -0 8:45 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Diyora Shadijanova, Jina Moore, Kirthi Jayakumar, Misha Ali Farhana M oder at or Anmol Irfan
Fi resi de Ch at|
I nclusiveFiction
12:55 PM -0 1:25 PM U A E | 0 8:55 A M -0 9:25 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Saba Karim Khan M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Panel |
TheFutureOf LiteratureI n TheTechnological Age
0 1:30 PM -0 2:10 PM U A E | 0 9:30 A M -10 :10 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Amrita Mukherjee, Anupama Jain, Sabdezar Irfan M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
Panel |
Role& I mpact of Feminist LiteratureI n the4th I ndustrial Revolution 0 2:20 PM -0 3:0 5 PM U A E | 10 :20 A M -11:0 5 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Juhi Javed Husain, Nighat Dad, Radhika Maira Tabrez M oder at or Aekta Kapoor
Tal k i ng Book s |
Everything Changed After That
0 3:15 PM -0 3:45 PM U A E | 11:15 A M -11:45 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Aekta Kapoor M oder at or Eliza Makhmakhanov
Panel |
Globalizing LiteratureBy Women Through Translations
0 3:50 PM -0 4:35 PM U A E | 11:50 PM -12:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Ayesha Kidwai, Gowri Vijaykumar, Manisha Chaudhry M oder at or Jenny Bhatt
Panel |
Publishing I n TheDigital Age
0 4:45 PM -0 5:30 PM U A E | 12:45 A M -0 5:30 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Aekta Kapoor, Taiba Abbas M oder at or Arsalan Athar
Work sh op |
SpeculativeFutures
0 5:45 PM -0 6:15 PM U A E | 0 1:45 PM -0 2:15 PM G M T Speculative design contests oppressive official realities to envision and manifest alternative ones? ones that would benefit the many. Following a model by Dunne and Raby, our workshop will invite participants to generate more inclusive futures in literature. Facilit at or : Dina Benbrahim
Panel |
Writing Across Form And Space: ThePoetics Of Womanhood I n Pakistan - TheAleph Review Panel 0 6:45 PM -0 7:30 PM U A E | 0 2:45 PM -0 3:30 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Aisha Hamid, Ayesha Raees, Ilona Yusuf, Afshan Shafi M oder at or Mehvash Amin
Fi resi de Ch at|
Today's Children Literature- Going Beyond
Gender Stereotypes 0 7:45PM -0 8:15 PM U A E | 0 3:45 PM -0 4:15 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Angela Joy, Baela Raza Jamil
K eynote |
TheCourageTo BelieveI n Our Own Stories
0 8:20 PM -0 8:50 PM U A E | 0 4:20 PM -0 4:50 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Naima Rashid
Fi resi de Ch at |
On Poets & Poetics
0 9:0 0 PM -0 9:30 PM U A E | 0 5:0 0 PM -0 5:30 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Arundhathi Subramaniam M oder at or Fatima Ijaz
K eynote |
On Volition, Violence& Villification
0 9:35 PM -0 9:55 PM U A E | 0 5:30 PM -0 5:55 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Saurav Dutt
K eynote |
TheFlip Side
10 :0 0 PM -10 :20 PM U A E | 0 6:0 0 PM -0 6:20 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Purva Grover
Sessions www.anank emag.com
3204 Lat if a Tow er Sh eik h Zayed Road Du bai PO Box 125344 Du bai, UAE M edia@an an k em ag.com
PANELS D ay 1 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21 The panels are designed and developed to discuss how the Women in Literature Festival can positively and impactfully highlight works of literature by women ? translated or otherwise, to identify problems and also encourage a dialogue about the way forward.
Wom en's Lit er ar y Hist or y: 100 Years of Literature Under a Gender Lens
11:50 A M -12:35 PM U A E | 0 7:50 A M -0 8:35 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Faiqa Mansab, Lakshana Palat, Taiba Abbas M oder at or Anmol Irfan The conversation highlights key topics for instance; is there a feminine voice in literature? With male-centric ideologies shaping our world, women?s voice, agency and psychology have been interpreted according to masculine principles. From Ismat Chughtai, Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Wolf, Maya Angelou, Nawal el Saadawi, Mary Beard to Gillian Flynn, these women have played a pivotal role in creating and developing female identities. The first of the many sessions throughout the three-day literature festival, this segment takes a retrospective walk back in time to explore and trace women?s voice as well as agency through the written word in the past 100 years.
PANEL D ay 1 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
Tr an slat in g Wom en : The Impact of Gender and Translated Work
0 1:25 PM -0 2:10 PM U A E | 0 9:25 A M -10 :10 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Dr. Amina Yaqin, Mina Malik, Dr. Nukhbah Langah, +1 M oder at or Mehr F Husain
Does gender factor in when translating a work of literature? Does it impact and influence linguistic styles, perceptions and interpretations? Regional literature and especially that by female writers and authors is more than likely to fall prey to linguistic resistance. This panel strives to investigate the gender shift in translation from one language to another. It also broaches the argument that ?translation does not happen in a vacuum, but in a continuum..[as] part of an on-going process of intercultural transfer.?
#WLF2021 D ay 1 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
Post -colon ial Lit er at u r e an d Wom en
0 2:20 PM -0 3:0 5 PM U A E | 10 :20 A M -11:0 5 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Aanchal Malhotra, Dr. Amin Yaqin, Saadia Gardezi, Soniah Kamal
M oder at or Mehr F Husain When we broach the subject of post colonialism especially with the help of literature and history, what becomes transparent is how women have been oppressed by both patriarchy and colonial powers. The question that arises here is have we really rid ourselves of colonial era in the truest sense of the word? Defined as ?the way in which unequal international relations of economic, political, military and cultural powers are maintained,? can we really claim that colonialism is over? The panel seeks to explore how the double-edged sword of women?s marginalization across Africa, Middle East and Asia due to race and gender within the paradigms of colonialism and post- have been transmitted and translated into literature. The discussion will also investigate how a colonized and/or an enslaved woman?s spiritual and physical self and identity have been presented in literary works especially by women writers.
PANELS D ay 1 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
In t er sect ion s of Gender Equality, Feminism, Women?s Rights, Migration, Politics, Peace, Society & Literature 0 4:50 PM -0 5:35 PM U A E | 12:50 PM -0 1:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Soniah Kamal, Radhika Tabrez, Mandy Sanghera, Shazaf Haider, Yousra Samir
M oder at or Kirthi Jayakumar
The panel seeks to explore how multiple social constructs and identities including feminism, women?s rights, gender, race and ethnicities interact and intersect to understand the heterogeneity of a woman?s lived experience in literature in the context of politics, peace, migration and society.
#WLF2021 D ay 1 | M arch 30 t h, 20 21
Polit ical Lit er at u r e: Women With Their Literary Swords
0 5:45 PM -0 6:30 PM U A E | 0 1:45 A M -0 2:30 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Anupama Jain, Arpita Das, Mahnaz Rehman, Zahra Hameed
M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar
This panel delves deep into the topic of how women of letters have used their literary swords to define feminist agency; defying convention and norms through the power of the written word to postulate about gynocentrism, political mobilization, contestations, opportunities and dissent. How does literature present and interpret social progress vis-à-vis women representing themselves vs men representing women. Do modern and post modern literature serve as tools of ?Vindication of Rights of Women??
PANEL D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Rediscover in g Lit er at u r e Under a Gender Lens
12:0 5 A M -12:50 PM U A E | 0 8:0 5 A M -0 8:50 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Amrita Mukherjee, Arpita Das, Piyusha Vir, Sabdezar Irfan
M oder at or Nida Usman Chaudhary
The canons of literature have mostly been judged by men with polemics paying little attention to women?s writing. While a handful of women authors have been given stature of importance by these men, many a work has been dismissed as whimsical, sentimental bordering to melodramatic. This panel seeks to explore and rediscover the breadth and beauty of literature with all its dimensions, nuances, idiosyncratic splendor with special considerations of a woman?s public voice vis-à-vis society?s cultural and misogynistic assumptions.
#WLF2021 D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
0 2:35 PM -0 3:20 PM U A E | 10 :35 A M -11:20 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Amrita Mukherjee, Faiqa Mansab, Kirthi Jayakumar, Mini Shivakumar Menon, Piyusha Vir M oder at or Radhika Maira Tabrez
Th e Fem ale Lit er at i Documenting Herstories Dissatisfied with how they have been cast in HIS-tory, the roles assigned to them at birth and stereotypes attached throughout their lives, have these female literati triggered an honest conversation about the status of women through their creative works? The panel also sheds light on how literature by women present a unique voice against patriarchal and feudalistic oppression as well as a monolithic understanding of feminism.
PANELS D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
0 3:30 PM -0 4:15 PM U A E | 11:30 A M -12:15 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Laaleen Sukhera, Mehr F Husain, Nida Usman Chaudhary, Sara Naveed
M oder at or Awais Khan
Panel Curated by Authors' AlliancePakistan Wom en An d Pu blish in g Challenges And Opportunities in Pakistan This panel examines publishing woes, the dearth of literary agents, rampant copyright violations, and the increasingly significant role of female publishers in Pakistan. This discussion seeks solutions to these issues and more in the sociopolitical context of storytelling, self-publishing, and male dominance in decision-making roles. Set within the platform of the newly founded Authors' Alliance Pakistan, this panel focuses on the need for proponents of literature to claim spaces, and their collective efforts and objectives in supporting the publishing landscape in the country.
#WLF2021 D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Wom en's Voices, Lost in Translation 0 4:50 PM -0 5:35 PM U A E | 12:50 A M -0 1:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Naima Rashid, Rabbania Shirjeel, Zarminae Ansari M oder at or Farah Kaleem
Looking at literature from a global perspective, the impact and role of translations to expand the scope as well as reach of audience and readership cannot be ignored. When it comes to translated works of literature by women, there is a yawning gap with fewer booksby female authors making the cut. While some writers become renowned in their home countries, their works and brilliance is seldom celebrated outside or across English-speaking audiences. The panel strives to initiate a conversation on identifying challenges and moving forward.
PANELS D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Silen ce of t h e Lam bs: Traversing through gender, violence, silence and ?heroic masculinity?in fiction
0 7:55 PM -0 8:40 PM U A E | 0 3:55 PM -0 4:40 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Mahnaz Rehman, Farzana Doctor, Aysha Baqir, Shazaf Fatima Haider
M oder at or Mehr F Husain Do male writers entrench and female writers debunk patriarchy and gender norms? Are gender-related issues and oppression depicted differently? The panel explores different perspectives of violence and women through works of literature with a special focus on eastern societies. The discussion also closely looks at silence as a social construct; its depiction and presentation in works of literature from masculine as well as feminine dimensions. With society perpetuating systematic silencing of women, has it ? or to what extent, has it silenced the female character and those who bring these protagonists to life? The panel will also discuss the notion of heroic masculinity as has been portrayed in literature. The journey of heroism, how it has been identified with masculinity, for example the ?valiant?Paris kidnapping Helen from the clutches of her tyrant husband Agamemnon to its present day interpretations that finds itself manifesting in feminism and femininity.
#WLF2021 D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Edit or s as En abler s Of The Literary World
0 8:50 PM -0 9:35 PM U A E | 0 4:50 PM -0 5:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Rosemarie Hudson, Wajiha Hyder, Mehvash Amin, M oder at or Naima Rashid Editors play a vital role in an author ?s career, discovering and nurturing their gifts while holding a space for creation.In this panel, we?ll discuss the incredible work they do in creating spaces with intention and curating conversations that are not always welcomed in mainstream discourse. Correcting the imbalance in the literary ecosystem demands creating more of these alternative spaces or giving a new direction to those that exist. We will meet three editors, cover the mission that drives them, the challenges they surmount, and what lessons we can take away from their experience. We will also ask them some burning questions that writers have always wanted to ask editors.
PANELS D ay 2 | M arch 31st , 20 21
Panel Curated By The Jane Austen Society of Pakistan (JASP) In clu sive Regen cy Nar r at ives For The Digital Era 0 9:50 PM -10 :35 PM U A E | 0 5:50 PM -0 6:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er Amanda-Rae Prescott, Amy Patterson, Bianca Hernandez, Christina Boyd
M oder at or Laaleen Sukhera
From Jane Austen to Bridgerton, a panel of experts ? Christina Boyd, Bianca Hernandez. Amy Patterson and Amanda-Rae Prescott - discuss diversity and inclusion in recent period drama in the context of representation, commercial fiction and pop culture. Moderated by Laaleen Sukhera ? author, communications consultant, and founder of JASP.
#WLF2021 D ay 3 | A pril 1st , 20 21
12:0 0 A M -12:45 PM U A E | 0 8:0 0 A M -0 8:45 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Diyora Shadijanova, Jina Moore, Kirthi Jayakumar, Misha Ali Farhana
M oder at or Anmol Irfan
Blogger s' Bay As we see a fast shift towards digitization, there?s been a fear of losing out on literature and a love for books. Blogger ?s Bay explores what can happen when we bring the two together. The conversation focuses around the rise of digital platforms in allowing for a more gender diverse conversation on global literature and with a panel from across the world, we will be taking into account how the world is growing increasingly smaller and why bringing in global gender narratives is crucial to making the industry grow.
PANELS D ay 3 | A pril 1st , 20 21
Th e Fu t u r e of Lit er at u r e In the Age of Technology 0 1:30 PM -0 2:10 PM U A E | 0 9:30 A M -10 :10 A M G M T Gu est Speak er Amrita Mukherjee, Anupama Jain, Sabdezar Irfan M oder at or Sabin Muzaffar From Quora to Wikipedia, Kindle to Goodreads, technology has changed or rather evolved the way literature is created and consumed. The panel seeks to explore the impact of technology not just on the written word but also society. Breaking boundaries, is technology the new Guttenberg that enables an exchange of thoughts, vision and expression? Or is it playing a devil?s advocate where sonorous sounds of the written words cannot be filtered from the boisterous noise? The main question thus asked is what is the future of literature in the age of technology?
#WLF2021 D ay 3 | A pril 1st , 20 21
Role an d Im pact of Fem in ist Lit er at u r e In the Fourth Industrial Revolutions 0 2:20 PM -0 3:0 5 PM U A E | 10 :20 A M -11:0 5 A M G M T Gu est Speak er s Juhi Javed Husain, Nighat Dad, Radhika Maira Tabrez M oder at or Aekta Kapoor
With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, the discussion seeks to discover the socio-political context of feminist literature emerging in the 21st century. Can the transformative potential of technology sanction and endorse feminist socio-political and literary agenda of inclusion? The panel will shed light on how literature by women in the digital age presents a unique voice and agency against patriarchal and feudalistic oppression as well as a monolithic understanding of feminism.
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Panel Curated by Zubaan Books Globalizin g Wom en in Lit er at u r e Through Translations
0 3:50 PM -0 4:35 PM U A E | 11:50 PM -12:35 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Ayesha Kidwai, Gowri Vijaykumar, Manisha Chaudhry M oder at or Jenny Bhatt
'I have the feelings of a woman, but I have only the language of men.' This phrase from Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd, leads us to the questions we would like to explore in this panel. In the last several decades, since writing by women began to make an appearance on the world stage, translation has been crucial to taking such works across borders and languages. Interesting questions have followed: can only women translate women? Should only women translate women? One of the most important works for women across the world, Simone de Beauvoir 's The Second Sex, came to the English speaking world through a translation done by a man, and it wasn't until sixty years after it was published that the substantial deletions made by the translator came to light. What might we read from this? Does gender play a role in translation? A woman writer, a woman translator, how do they negotiate a language constructed mainly by men? In this panel, we bring together translators and writers to debate some of these questions.
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Pu blish in g in t h e Digital Age
0 4:45 PM -0 5:30 PM U A E | 12:45 A M -0 5:30 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Aekta Kapoor, Taiba Abbas M oder at or Arsalan Athar From the Gutenberg to Kindle, publishing has a longstanding socio-cultural and political history. Indeed we are born free, but everywhere in chains and the written word ? its creation and production ? has played a pivotal role in unshackling humanity. The role and impact of publishing has grown manifold with advancements made, this century is no different. In fact, it has only accelerated engagement, cultivating global human connections and therefore creating space for unique, diverse and inclusive expressions, ideals and ideas. The panel seeks to explore the evolution of publishing in the digital age, its impact and role in how we think, act and react. It also seeks to question where the publishing industry stands ? especially independent publishers, how stakeholders ? book readers, retailers, publishers, editors and writers approaching books.
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Wr it in g Acr oss For m & Space The Poetics of Womanhood in Pakistan 0 6:45 PM -0 7:30 PM U A E | 0 2:45 PM -0 3:30 PM G M T Gu est Speak er s Aisha Hamid, Ayesha Raees, Ilona Yusuf, Afshan Shafi M oder at or Mehvash Amin
This conversation will highlight the evolution of poetry by women in Pakistan with a focus on those writing in English. We will discuss how poetic form has undergone aesthetic changes over the last few decades. The influence of modernist, western female poets on local writing will be a key facet of the session. Each participant in the panel will be asked to delineate their individual poetic 'voice' and the muses which have affected the latter. The role of the Aleph Review in giving space and mentorship to emerging female poets will also be a facet of the session. The impact of space, particularly the country of their birth, Pakistan, on their oeuvre and thematic concerns will also be a key aspect of the discussion.
K eynote Sessi ons
On Decolon ialism , In t er sect ion alit y & Lit er at u r e 11:0 0 A M -11:15 A M U A E | 0 7:0 0 A M -0 7:15 A M G M T | M arch 30 , 20 21 Feminist, decolonial anthropologist Dr. Diana J Fox explains the relationship between decolonial feminism and intersectionality in this headlining session of the Women in Literature Festival 2021. Deconstructing decolonialism, the keynote session examines its impact on gender and society through history and literature.
Ch an gin g Th e Nar r at ive 11:0 5 A M -11:25 A M U A E | 0 7:0 5 A M -0 7:25 A M G M T | M arch 31st , 20 21 Portrayal of female protagonists in literature have evolved through the passage of time but women?s voice and influence has been seldom showcased in works of fiction as well as non-fiction. In her keynote, distinguished author Sutapa Basu walks down memory lane to explore and examine a woman?s voice, her agency and resilience in socio-political setup especially in literature and how her influence has led to greatness.
K eynote Sessi ons Th e Fu t u r e of Lit er at u r e In Th e Age of Tech n ology 11:0 0 A M -11:20 A M U A E | 0 7:0 0 A M -0 7:20 A M G M T | A pril 1st , 20 21 Ana Serrano Telleria explores the potential technology holds when it comes to how we create works of literature in digitally inclusive environments. The keynote examines the culture of the written word and how it has evolved through technological advancements and created space for new writing practices, production and publication of the written word.
Th e Cou r age To Believe In Ou r St or ies 0 8:20 PM -0 8:50 PM U A E | 0 4:20 PM -0 4:50 PM G M T | A pril 1st , 20 21 Writing is a lonely journey. As we make our way through the world of publishing, its gatekeepers and its challenges, somewhere along the line, our spirit tires; we wonder why we are writing in the first place and who cares about the stories we have to tell. There is also pressure to tailor the stories to suit a standard expectation of 'stories from Pakistan'. In this keynote, the speaker will talk about why the world needs us to tell our own stories and how we must develop the courage to believe in them.
On Volit ion , Violen ce & Vilif icat ion 0 9:35 PM -0 9:55 PM U A E | 0 5:30 PM -0 5:55 PM G M T | A pril 1st , 20 21 Saurav Dutt, whose debut novel The Butterfly Room, chronicled the accounts of over 200 domestic abuse survivors, talks about the importance of people understanding how complex domestic violence and psychological abuse is and that the South Asian community has a particular challenge in overcoming the issue which is often seen as taboo.
Th e Flip Side 10 :0 0 PM -10 :20 PM U A E | 0 6:0 0 PM -0 6:20 PM G M T | A pril 1st , 20 21 Purva Grover examines the flipside of approaching the written word and shares her thoughts on how to edit as a woman - anecdotes from her journalism days, how to write like a man and why - experiences from the present and when not to be a feminist. She will focus on the women-centric issues she writes on and how to get even men interested in reading stories that matter.
FIRESIDE CHAT SESSIONS Sh ow casin g en gagin g t alk s w it h som e of t h e m ost n ot able n am es in t h e lit er ar y w or ld D ay 1
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Tal k i ng Book s Sh ow casin g WLF2021 Book s in Focu s
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I n Th e Spotl i gh t
SPOTLIGHT Aek t a Kapoor
Aekta Kapoor is the New Delhi-based founder and editor of eShe magazine and the author of the spiritual memoir 100 Paths. After a long career as an award-winning lifestyle and fashion journalist heading prestigious publications and websites, Aekta now focuses on gender equality, social justice and peacebuilding through her writing and initiatives. She was mentor for The DO School's Industry Disruptor 2020 by UN Women in India and Europe, and for the NITI Aayog-UN Investor Consortium for Women Entrepreneurs 2020.
Af sh an Sh af i
Afshan Shafi lives in Lahore and has studied English Literature and International Relations at The University of Buckingham and Webster Graduate School London. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Poetry, Poetry Wales, Blackbox Manifold, Flag + Void, Luna Luna, Clinic, and 3am magazine. Her poems have also appeared in the anthologies, Smear (edited by Greta Bellamacina) ,The New River Press Yearbook, and When They Start To Love You As A Machine You Should Run (edited by Heathcote Ruthven). For her work as a poet she was interviewed by Arte Tv (France) Words Without Borders, Hello! and Pakistan Today. Her most recent collection 'Quiet Women' was published by Newline Press. She has also served as a poetry editor for The Missing Slate and as an assistant editor for GoodTimes Magazine. Her prose has appeared in Grazia (Pakistan), The News on Sunday, OK! (Pakistan) and Daily Times (Pakistan). She writes regularly for Libas Now and is a senior contributing editor at the Aleph Review. She is currently working on her first novel.
# W LF20 21 Am an da-Rae Pr escot t Amanda-Rae Prescott is a freelance pop culture journalist. Her articles reviewing period dramas and other UK TV shows have previously appeared on Den Of Geek, GBH Boston, Doctor Who Magazine, and several podcasts. She is an outspoken advocate for increased racial diversity in period drama fandom as well as UK TV/film. She can often be found live-tweeting UK TV shows or analyzing issues in fandom on Twitter @amandarprescott
Am een a Saiyid Ameena Saiyid. OBE, S.I. Knight of Arts and Letters (France), is the Founder and Director, Adab Festival and Publisher and MD, Lightstone Publishers Ameena Saiyid was MD of Oxford University Press for 30 years. She is the first woman in Pakistan to become the head of a multinational company and President of the Overseas Investors? Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She began the movement of literature festivals in Pakistan with Karachi Literature Festival in 2010. . She is on the boards of Kashf Foundation, Nasra Schools, Jinnah Society, Habib University, Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Institute of Art and Culture, Lahore, Sindh Madrassatul Islam University. She is a member of the federal education minister ?s Search Committee for the selection of scholars on Pakistan Chairs abroad, a member of the foreign ministry?s committee of Arts and Culture and Trustee of the Vicky Noon Education Foundation, UK, which gives scholarships to Pakistani students to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
Dr . Am in a Yaqin Dr. Amina Yaqin is a Reader in Urdu and Postcolonial Studies at SOAS. She is Chair of the Decolonising Working Group and the Director of the SOAS Festival of Ideas. Her monograph Gender, Sexuality and Feminism in Pakistani women's poetry is forthcoming with Anthem Press in 2021. She is co-author with Peter Morey of Framing Muslims: Stereotyping and Representation after 911 (Harvard University Press, 2011) and has co-edited, Contesting Islamophobia: media, politics and culture (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury 2019); Muslims, Trust and Multiculturalism: New Directions (Palgrave MacMillan 2018); Culture, Diaspora and Modernity in Muslim Writing (Routledge 2012). Her research is interdisciplinary and engages with contemporary contexts of Muslim life as well as the politics of culture in Pakistan where she grew up. She has been a Co-PI on two projects, the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded International Research Network on Framing Muslims and the Research Councils UK funded Muslims, Trust and Cultural Dialogue. She is a book series co-editor on Multicultural Textualities published by Manchester University Press and on the Advisory Board of Anthem Studies in South Asian Literature, Aesthetics and Culture, the Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies, Journal of Research (Humanities) Punjab university and the Journal of Commonwealth Literature. Dr Yaqin is the founding Chair of the Centre for the Study of Pakistan at SOAS and the co-founder of the Centre for Gender Studies.
SPOTLIGHT Am r it a M u k h er jee Amrita Mukherjee has worked in publications like The Times of India, The Hindustan Times and The Asian Age in India and she has been the Features Editor with ITP publishing Group, Dubai?s largest magazine publishing house. An advocate of alternative journalism, she is currently an independent journalist writing for international publications and websites and also blogs on women?s issues at www.amritaspeaks.com Amrita?s debut novelExit Interview published by Rupa Publications in 2015, earned the tag ?unputdownable? from reviewers and readers alike. It was on the Starmark Bestsellers List for months. Exit Interview is a fiction based on the life of a woman journalist. Her vast exposure to people from all walks of life and her keen interest in collecting stories and collating it with research has resulted in the 13 short stories in her bookMuseum of Memories published by Readomania in April 2017. Her work has been published in two anthologies Mock, Stalk & Quarrel (Readomania, 2016)and in Across and Beyond (Avenel Press) published in 2020. Amrita?s work has been praised by Vir Sanghvi and MJ Akbar. She has been featured in publications likeThe Telegraph, The Times of India, Femina, The Gulf News, Dubai,The Statesman,Deccan Chronicle,Ei Samay, Aajkal and Saptahik Bartaman. She received the WE?Women Per Excellence Awardin 2018 for her contribution to writing. Website: www.amritaspeaks.com
Am y Pat t er son An Austen fan since early childhood, Amy Patterson and her family operate Jane Austen Books, the world's only women-owned bookstore dedicated to books by and about Austen. Amy is also a Contributing Editor at Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine, and her Austen-related writing has appeared across multiple digital and print publications, including The Joy of Jane (2017). As a journalist based in Ohio's idyllic Amish country, Amy covers politics and education for the Geauga County Maple Leaf, named Newspaper of the Year for the 6th time in 2021. Twitter @amyleep
# W LF20 21 An a Ser r an o Teller ia Ana Serrano Tellería is an Associate Professor (ANECA) at the University of Castilla la Mancha and is also a post-doctoral researcher, collaborator at the following centers: ASCA & Media Studies Department, Faculty Of Humanities, University of Amsterdam; Oslo Met Digital Journalism, Oslo Metropolitan University; DIGIDOC, Pompeu Fabra University; LabCom.IFP, University of Beira Interior, Portugal; MESO, San Andrés University, Argentina, and Northwestern University, USA; Innovation in Digital Media, Carlos III University and Innovamedianet: a network of researchers. Since receiving the "Extraordinary Ph.D Award" in 2012 for her thesis (2010) "Initial Node Design On Cybermedia: A Comparative Study", her academic and professional work has focused on media literacy; media ecology; interface design; cross / multi / transmedia communication, performative and visual arts.
Aan ch al M alh ot r a Aanchal Malhotra is a Delhi-based oral historian, who works on the 1947 Partition and its related subjects. She is the author of the highly-acclaimed book,Remnants of a Separation (2017), the co-founder of the Museum of Material Memory. Her next book,In the Language of Remembering, is forthcoming in autumn 2021.
An ju m Kat yal Anjum Katyal is a writer, editor, translator and critic.She is the author of several books on theatre and performance such asHabib Tanvir: Towards an Inclusive TheatreandBadal Sircar: Towards a Theatre of Conscience. Her book on Safdar Hashmi?s theatre is in process. She was Chief Editor, Seagull Books, for almost 20 years, as well as Editor,Seagull Theatre QuarterlyCalcutta, and steered two major translation initiatives: the New Indian Playwrights Series of post-independence regional playwriting, and The Selected Works of Mahasweta Devi from Bengali. She has translated Habib Tanvir ?splaysand stories by Mahasweta Devi and Meera Mukherjee.She is currently Curator, NEW festival, Santiniketan, and Director, Writing Department, The Creative Arts Academy. She also writes poetry and sings the blues.
SPOTLIGHT An gela Joy Angela Joy was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. Before graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota, Angela attended New York University and Spelman College. With a move to Los Angeles, CA, Angela traveled extensively as a background vocalist, also working in television and movie soundtracks. Currently, Angela is an author, substitute teacher, Girl Scout Cookie Manager, Troop Leader, 5th grade book club moderator, and music lover. She is the co-founder of the McGaugh International Culture Club. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two children, but will always call Minneapolis home.Black Is a Rainbow Coloris her first book.
An m ol Ir f an Anmol Irfan is a freelance journalist and the founder of Perspective Magazine, an online Pakistani platform that aims to empower unheard voices and stories in the country, and champion its youth to challenge existing norms. She did her BA in History from the London School Of Economics during which time she also specialised in finding all the best foods in London as well. Her articles have been published in VICE World News, HUCK Magazine, Reader 's Digest, Gal-dem and more. Her work focuses on gender, politics and South Asian culture, exploring intersectionality and minority rights.
Ar slan At h ar Arslan Athar: Arslan is the founder of The Desi Collective, an anthology for young South Asian artists and writers. Arslan himself is a writer, currently working under the mentorship of Fatima Bhutto for his novel, under the South Asia Speaks program. His work has appeared in Newsweek, The News on Sunday and MangoBaaz.
# W LF20 21 An u pam a Jain Anupama Jain is the author of When Padma Bani Paula, listed as 'One of the 5 best books of 2018 Fiction' by readwriteinspire.com. It is a breezy novel about second chances of life and the importance of staying true to one's roots. She also wrote Masala Mix: Potpourri Of Shorts, a short story collection on myriad manifestations of love. She is also the co-author of 9 anthologies across genres, one of which is an LIMCA record holder as India?s first Composite Novel. Anupama is the Founder & Admin, SeniorSchoolMoms which won the Orange Flower Award 2021, For Best Facebook Groups. She is also the Head (Content, Collaborations, Marketing), at Incredible Women of India Anupama has won multiple major awards for her writing. The Orange Flower Awards for humour, @momspresso awards for fiction, and parental blogging. She was listed as one of the 10 Indian women bloggers, a feminist must follow, by Women's Web. She blogs at akkaacerbic.wordpress.com. Anupama writes an award-winning satirical series at readomania.com, AJ Wants to Know, about the quirky world around. Anupama?s Author Central Page https://www.amazon.in/dp/B088DFQ74L/
Ar pit a Das Arpita Das is the Founder-Publisher of the award-winning New Delhi-based independent publishing house, Yoda Press, and an Executive Board Member of PublisHer (womeninpublishing.org). Having taught as Visiting Faculty on the MA in Publishing and Creative Writing programmes at Ambedkar University and Ashoka University, she also runs the Yoda Press Workshops Series for Authors and Editors. She writes frequently for periodicals and platforms on book culture, gender, popular culture and bibliotherapy.
SPOTLIGHT Ar u n dh at h i Su br am an iam Described as "one of the finest poets writing in India today" (The Hindu, 2010) Arundhathi Subramaniam is the award-winning author of twelve books of poetry and prose. Widely translated and anthologised, her most recent volume of poems, Love Without a Story (published in 2019 by Westland Amazon in India, and just out internationally with Bloodaxe Books), has been described as 'a breathtaking and heartwarming book' (Poetry Book Society Bulletin) and as a book by 'a unique poet of our times... in a league all by herself ' (Indian Literature). Her previous book, When God is a Traveller was the Season Choice of the Poetry Book Society, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Arundhathi is the recipient of various awards and fellowships, including the inaugural Khushwant Singh Prize, the Raza Award for Poetry, the Zee Women's Award for Literature, the Il Ceppo Prize in Italy, the Zee Indian Women Award for Literature, the Mystic Kalinga award, among others. She has written extensively on culture and spirituality, and has worked over the years as poetry editor, cultural curator and critic. She has been Editor of the India domain of the Poetry International Web, a site that has grown over the years into a significant online archive of contemporary Indian poetry. She has also written extensively on literature and dance for The Times of India, The Indian Express, The Hindu, and various mainstream newspapers and journals. Additionally, she has been curator of dance, as also an inter-arts forum at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai for several years. As prose writer, her books include the bestselling biography of a contemporary mystic,Sadhguru: More Than a LifeandThe Book of Buddha.As editor, her most recent book is the Penguin anthology of Bhakti poetry,Eating God. More details athttps://arundhathisubramaniam.webs.com/
Aw ais Kh an Awais Khan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Durham University. He has studied Creative Writing at the prestigious Faber Academy in London. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, In the Company of Strangers, published by Simon & Schuster, The Book Guild and Isis Audio. He has recently signed a 2 book deal with Orenda Books UK. He has given lectures on creative writing at Durham University, American University in Dubai, Canadian University in Dubai, United States Educational Foundation of Pakistan, Kinnaird College, Hajvery University etc. He regularly appears in the media to talk about writing and publishing. He is represented by Annette Crossland at A for Authors Agency Ltd London.
# W LF20 21 Aish a Ham id Aisha Hamid is a feminist writer and poet based in Lahore, Pakistan. She graduated from the University of Warwick with a MA in Gender and International Development and is a Commonwealth Scholar. Her academic and creative writing both revolve around Pakistani women?s agency and the multiple meanings it comes to hold for them. As a woman living and writing in a deeply patriarchal space, she regards her writing as activism. She was among six writers shortlisted for the Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women, 2019. She was also among eight writers selected for the residential LUMS Young Writers Workshop, 2019. She has been published by Buchleser Books and Rare Swan Press. Her poetry is forthcoming inThe Aleph Review(2021).
Ayesh a Raees Ayesha Raees identifies herself as a hybrid creating hybrid poetry through hybrid forms. Raees currently serves as an Assistant Poetry Editor at AAWW's The Margins and has received fellowships from Asian American Writers' Workshop, Brooklyn Poets, and Kundiman. Raees's first book of poetry, "Coining The Wishing Tower " won the Broken River Prize hosted by Platypus Press and judged by Kaveh Akbar, and will be forthcoming in March 2022. Akbar describes her book as: ?everything I hope to find when I read a book of poetry? fearless reckoning with unprecedented experience spoken in a singular, deeply and importantly strange lyric voice.? Raees's Video Poem "The Memoir.... "was the winner of the Deanna Tulley Multimedia Contest hosted by SlipperyElm at the University of Findlay and has beenselected for national and international film festivals including the Midwest Video Poetry Fest & 9th International Video Poetry Festival in Athens, Greece. From Lahore, Pakistan, Raees is a graduate of Bennington College, and currently splits her time between New York City and Lahore.
SPOTLIGHT Aysh a Baqir Aysha grew up in Pakistan. Her time in Mount Holyoke College sparked a passion for economic development. In 1998 she founded a pioneering not for profit economic development organization, Kaarvan Crafts Foundation, with a mission to alleviate poverty by providing business and marketing training to girls and women in low-income communities. Her novel Beyond the Fields was published in January 2019 and shortlisted forbest-Debut English at the 9th UBL Literary Awards. She was invited to launch her book at the Lahore and Karachi Literary Festivals and was featured in the Singapore Writers Festival (2019) and Money FM Career 360 show in Singapore. Her interviews, book reviews, articles and short stories have appeared in Countercurrents, Borderless, Expat Living, The Herald, Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly, the Kitaab, The Tempest, and Singapore Writer ?s Group Forum. She is an Ashoka Fellow. www.ayshabaqir.com
Baela Raza Jam il Baela Raza Jamil, CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) centre for education and consciousness is a public policy specialist, innovator and an activist. She leads the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) Pakistan, a citizens? accountability learning initiative, and is the founder of the Children?s & Teachers Literature Festivals a nationwide social movement on learning for meaning and inclusion. Since March 2020, Baela has been engaged with COVID19 response at the institutional, policy, provincial, national and global levels including collaboration with the Government on Ed Tech solutions ?TeleSchool?. A former Technical Adviser to the Federal Ministry of Education, she is associated with several initiatives on Early Years, Girls?second chance programs and life skills nationally and globally.She is on the board of the Punjab Social Protection Authority (PSPA); Member Advisory Committee on Education and National Steering Committee ECD Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives; the Platform for Girls Education, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) UK; Commissioner at the Education Commission and Education Workforce Initiative (EWI); Member Advisory Board Global BusinessCoalition for Education (GBC Ed); Chairperson SDG 4.2.1 Task force Global Alliance to Monitor LearningUNESCO Institute of Statistics(UIS);and founding Member People?s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network). She is the managing trustee of a school for the most disadvantaged with an IB-PYP program, the Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust (SNPET), and Board Member ILM Association, an ed-tech industry alliance in Pakistan.
# W LF20 21 Ayesh a Kidw ai Ayesha Kidwai is Professor at the Centre for Linguistics at Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi. A recipient of the Infosys Prize 2013 in Humanities, Kidwai works both in theoretical linguistics and as an active translator, and a women's rights activist. As a translator she has published two English translations of Anis Kidwai's Urdu memoirs? In Freedom's Shade (Penguin 2011), and The Dust of the Caravan (Zubaan and New Text, 2020). In Freedom's Shade was shortlisted for the Economist Crossword Book Award in 2012, and has received recognition and accolades across the world.
Bian ca Her n an dez Social media mage by day, and nerd of many fandoms by night, Bianca Hernandez is a lady of many interests and is well known for Drunk Austen, Book Hoarding and podcasts. She works professionally in social media managing brand marketing and audience engagement and fights for a more inclusive Jane Austen community. Twitter: @bookhoarding
Bish an Sam addar Bishan Samaddar is an editor at Seagull Books, India, and an instructor at the Seagull School of Publishing.
Ch r ist in a Boyd Christina Boyd wears many hats as she is a great reader, an editor under her own banner, The Quill Ink, LLC, a dedicated reviewer, and an artist. Since 2013, Christina has worked with over thirty authors, published five anthologies, and edited numerous contemporary and historical romance, chicklit, and Jane Austen-inspired novels. As of 2021, she has edited forty-five books in seven years and is a life member of Jane Austen Society of North America. Twitter, Instagram @xtnaboyd
SPOTLIGHT Deept i M en on Deepti Menon has always loved the written word. She began to write at the age of ten and was lucky enough to have travelled around the country as an Army kid. Her experiences during those years helped hone her interest and her flair for writing. Her first book, 'Arms and the Woman', published in 2002, takes a light-hearted look at the life of an Army wife. 2013 and 2014 were lucky for her, as many of her short stories were chosen for myriad anthologies. She also has a book of poems, titled 'Deeparadhana of Poems', lovingly compiled by her mother, herself a talented writer and ?Shadow in the Mirror ?, a psychological thriller published by Readomania in 2016. Her latest offerings are an eBook of thriller short stories, titled ?Where Shadows Follow ? Tales that Twist and Turn?and ?Tales from the Panchatantra?, a set of four eBooks, all by Readomania. She is currently working on stories based on ten Shakespearean plays, which she hopes will pique the curiosity of young readers. Writing has been an endless journey with its twists and turns, often leading Deepti on to the myriad mysteries of life, love and relationships. The thrill of seeing her name in print has only intensified over the years.She believes that Mark Twain had the right idea when he said, ?The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.? There has never been a dull moment, never time to regret, according to her, as life is truly worth living.
Dian a J. Fox Diana J. Fox is a feminist decolonial anthropologist, scholar-activist, and documentary film producer whose ethnographic field work is predicated on the value of partnership with social movement actors. Her work in places as diverse as Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Japan seeks to push boundaries and transgress conventional divides toward liberatory realities across genders, sexualities, class, caste, and sociocultural constructions of race, to build radically inclusive collaborations and sustainable cultures and ecologies. Diana serves on a number of boards and committees including the Sexualities Working Group of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA), the international advisory board of the Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project (FACRP) in Trinidad and Tobago, is the Founder and Editor of the open access, online Journal of International Women?s Studies and the co-chair of the Racial Justice Committee at her Synagogue, Temple Beth-El in Providence, RI where she lives.She is the recipient of four Fulbright awards and many other grants, has published a number of books and articles and is a frequent speaker at conferences and other venues. The JIWS Facebook page is:https://www.facebook.com/groups/447055225467504
# W LF20 21 Dr . Nu k h bah Lan gah Dr. Nukhbah Taj Langahh has served as an Associate Professor of English at Forman Christian College University since 2009. She Chaired the department of English from 2013-16 and served as the Dean of Humanities from 2016-20 at Forman. She did her post-doc from Le Centre d'Études de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud, Paris (2016-17) and was a Charles Wallace Fellow (2018) in the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Her research interests include resistance literature from South Asia, peripheral literary voices from Pakistan, South Asian cinema, post-911 literature, regional languages and discourses from Pakistan and translation theory and praxis. She is also a freelance translator, political activist and a feminist. Her academic publications include a monograph,Poetry as Resistance: Islam and Ethnicity in Postcolonial Pakistan(Routledge, 2011); an edited volume, Literary and non-literary Responses towards 9/11: South Asia and Beyond(Routledge, 2011) and a number of research papers based on Siraiki identity, marginalization of women, poetic resistance. She has also published poetry translations with Poetry Translation Center, London. She is currently a Project Partner Lead from Forman Christian College University in Global Challenges Research Fund (GRCF) for a pilot (ADVANCING FEMALE LITERACY AND EMPOWERMENT IN PAKISTAN AND INDIA THROUGH LIFE WRITING) with University of Sheffield (UK) and Academic partner. Her upcoming coedited work with Dr. Roshni Sengupta (Film, Media and Representation in Postcolonial South Asia: Beyond Partition) deals withpost-Partition connections in South Asia through media and cultural responses.
Faiqa M an sab Faiqa Mansab is the author of This House of Clay and Water, published by Penguin India in 2017. The novel was longlisted for the Ghetz Pharma Fiction Prize and German Consulate Peace Prize in 2018. It will be coming soon in Turkish by LIBER PLUS and has been optioned for screen. The Novel is also getting a Pakistani edition next month with Liberty Books. Faiqa has an MFA with a Distinction in Fiction from Kingston University London and an MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture from Birkbeck University London.
SPOTLIGHT Din a Ben br ah im Dina Benbrahim is an Arab multidisciplinary creative who uses a feminist lens to focus on illuminating the power in human beings to be transformative forces in society. Her current research investigates design for civic action and social justice for marginalized communities to collectively reimagine equitable futures. Dina has experience in design, art direction, copywriting and entrepreneurship in New York and Casablanca, with SYPartners New York, J. Walter Thompson New York and Casablanca, and Shem?s Publicité. Her work has been featured in national and international exhibitions and awarded multiple times. Dina received a Bachelor in Business Administration and a Master ?s Degree in Marketing and Communications in addition to participating in the Exchange Program in Arts and Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University. She has completed her MFA in Design & Visual Communications at University of Florida where she also taught design and was the 2020 recipient of the Calvin A. VanderWerf Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is now an Assistant Professor at University at Buffalo, SUNY. She is motivated to activate greatness in everyone she encounters.
Diyor a Sh adijan ova Diyora Shadijanova is the First Person editor atgal-demmagazine and the host of the Broccoli Book Club podcast. Her work can be read in VICE, Refinery29, Bustle and Cosmopolitan.
Far zan a Doct or Farzana Doctor is the Toronto-based author of four novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, and Seven. Seven has been chosen for 2020 Best Book lists including: Indigo/Chapters, Apple Books, Amnesty International, CBC Books and more. Her poetry collection,You Still Look The Same, will be released in fall 2022.Farzana is also the Maasi behind Dear Maasi, a new sex and relationships column for FGM/C survivors. She is alsoan activist, part-time psychotherapist and amateur tarot card reader.linktr.ee/farzanadoctor
# W LF20 21 Fat im a Ijaz Fatima Ijaz, finds reality to be mysterious and indulges in fathoming it by drawing tarot cards in surrealistic association. She is currently teaching English and Speech Communication at IBA, Karachi. She is an English graduate from Hartwick College, N.Y and York University, TO. She also holds a Master in English Linguistics from Eastern Michigan University. She won first prize at the Mclaughlin Poetry Contest in Toronto, 2007. Her work was featured in a poetry and art collaboration for #NomeansNo at the Music Mela, Islamabad'18 and at Art Baithak, KU in March'19. Her work has been published in The Write Launch, Rigorous, Abramelin, Zau, Whirlwind, Praxis and several others. She also writes regularly for NayaDaur Media and is currently collaborating with famed fashion designer Sadaf Malaterre on a cross-collaborative art/poetry project.
Gow r i Vijayk u m ar Gowri Vijayakumar is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University. Her research and teaching uses feminist, queer and transnational perspectives to illuminate the trajectories of social movements, the everyday life of the state, and the political economy of globalization. Her book At Risk: Indian Sexual Politics and the Global AIDS Crisis, forthcoming with Stanford University Press, uses over 150 in-depth interviews and ethnographic research across India and Kenya to study the politics of the AIDS crisis. She regularly collaborates with the Solidarity Foundation in Bangalore. Most recently, she is translating and editing the autobiography of Akkai Padmashali, a transgender human rights activist based in Bangalore and founder of the NGO Ondede.
Ilon a Yu su f Ilona is a poet and an artist who has freelanced for Nukta and ArtNow, as well as written essays on Pakistani poetry in English. Her poems have been published once in a book form and in literary journals in Pakistan and abroad. She worked as an editor for The Alhamra Literary Review and guest-edited a special issue of Pakistani poetry in English for the Canadian poetry magazine Vallum. As a printmaker, she integrates word and image in form of artists?books. Lighting design and conversation piece furniture are her bread and butter. She is also the associate editor of the Aleph Review.? ?
SPOTLIGHT Jen n y Bh at t Jenny Bhatt is a writer, literary translator, and book critic. She teaches fiction at Writing Workshops Dallas. She's also the host of the Desi Bookspodcast. Her debut story collection, Each of Us Killers, was out in September 2020 and critically well-received. Her debut literary translation, Ratno Dholi: The Best Stories of Dhumketu, was out in October 2020 and also critically well-received. Find her at jennybhattwriter.com.
Jin a M oor e Jina Moore is the editor in chief of Guernica magazine, a global journal of arts and politics. She is a member of the board that publishesAdi magazine and of the advisory board of Off/Assignment. She spent 15 years as a foreign correspondent, half of them freelance, based in East Africa and working from more than 30 countries around the world. She was the inaugural Global Women's Rights reporter and senior foreign correspondent for BuzzFeed News, helping to establish the news brand through its gender coverage, and the East Africa Bureau Chief at The New York Times. Her work has also appeared in/at The New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Boston Review, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Christian Science Monitor, PRI's The World, Best American Science Writing (2009), Best American Travel Writing (2021), and other places.
Kar en Osm an Karen Osman is an award-winning writer and best-selling author. Following her win at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Montegrappa Novel Writing Award 2016 with her crime-thriller novel, The Good Mother, renowned literary agent,Luigi Bonomi of LBA Books, secured a three-book deal with UK-based publishing house Head of Zeus. Since then, The Good Mother, which was published in October 2017 and her second novel, The Home(September 2018), were both number one bestsellers. Her third book, A Perfect Lie, was published in August 2019 and she is currently working on her fourth novel. In July 2020, Karen launched her signature online writing course, Kick Start Your Book With Karen, designed for budding authors to help write their books.
# W LF20 21 Kir t h i Jayak u m ar Kirthi Jayakumar is a lawyer, feminist researcher, and WPS practitioner. She founded and runs The Gender Security Project, which works on the WPS Agenda and Feminist Foreign Policy through research, reportage, and documentation. She obtained her MA in Peace and Conflict Studies at CTPSR, Coventry University, and previously at UPEACE, Costa Rica. She is a member of the Working Group for the Every Woman Treaty and part of the Advisory Working Group for the Beijing+25 process.
Laaleen Su k h er a Laaleen is an eclectic writer, content specialist and digital media professional. She consults in international communications and PR in the UK, MENA and South Asia. Laaleen has appeared on TEDx, the BBC, British Council Arts and The Times, while her recent essays have been published in literary journals in the United States. She has appeared as a speaker and panellist in Austin, Bangalore, Belo Horizonte, Dubai, Galle, Islamabad, Lahore, London, Minneapolis, Sharjah, Sydney and Washington, DC. An alumna of Clark University, Laaleen's views are often quoted in the press including The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, The Economist, Elle, Glamour and Vanity Fair. Austenistan, her anthology of commercial fiction, was inspired by Jane Austen and published by Bloomsbury. Set among Lahore wedding parties, Karachi salons, Islamabad ballrooms and Surrey estates, it was a regional bestseller and is in its second edition. She is represented by WME.
Lak sh an a Palat An aspiring author, journalist and history graduate, Lakshana Palat has written stories for three anthologies 'When They Spoke', 'Mocktales' and 'Readomania's Book Of Romance'. In 2018, she published her first book, 'The Final Word'.?
SPOTLIGHT Leon or a M ian o Born in Douala (Cameroon) in 1973, Léonora Miano has established herself as a major voice of French speaking literature. A novelist, playwright and essayist, she is the author of some twenty books. Her works explores sub-Saharan and diasporic experiences as expressions of the universal human condition.Léonora Miano was awarded the Prix Goncourt des lycéens in 2006 for her novelContours du jour qui vient(Plon), the Prix Fémina and the Grand prix du roman métis in 2013 for La saison de l? ombre (Grasset).In 2020, the University of Lorraine, in collaboration with the University of the Greater Region, which brings together 6 European academic institutions, created the "Frontières Léonora Miano" literary prize, in recognition of the author ?s writings and commitments. Léonora Miano curates the Quilombola series at Seagull Books, an independent publisher based in Calcutta, India. She is the founder of The Quilombo Publishing, located in Lomé (Togo) where she lives. Photos credits: Emerson Lawson
M ah n az Reh m an Mahanaz Rehman has been working as Resident Director at Aurat Foundation?s regional office based at Karachi since 2010. She is a known practitioner on women rights and socio political issues having a journalistic background which adds to her strengths in terms of networking, liaison and communication with media, civil society, political parties and parliamentarians. She has been serving as development practitioner and has acquired versatile skills in terms of trainings on human right advocacy, developing research papers and technical backstopping on programme development aspects. Her experiential background while working with diverse institutions ranging from media, Agah Khan University and Church World Service significantly contributed to attain the desired set of skills and competencies to serve her current leadership role as resident director at AF. Mahnaz has extensive international exposure in terms of attending internationalconferences, trainings and a delegation meeting held around international human rights charters and conventions and human right advocacy and thus has visited number of countries including Bangkok, Brussels, New York, Hague, Afghanistan, Sri lanka and Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonberg, USA. She attained high level honors during her academic and professional life in terms of being the First female President of the employees union of a newspaper and senior joint secretary of KUJ(Karachi union of journalists) for two terms in 1983-84 and also has the honor of being awarded the Friendship Medal by the Prime Minister of People?s Republic of China (Li Peng) in 1991 for promoting friendship of two countries through her writings.She got life time achievement award in 2020 by Sindh Commission on Status of Women of Government of Sindh.
# W LF20 21 M eh r F Hu sain Mehr F Husain is a British-Pakistani journalist. Author of 'Pakistan: A Fashionable History', she has worked in different roles in the Pakistani media industry; as a Features Editor at The Friday Times (TFT), an Assistant Editor at Good Times (GT) magazine and as a columnist for India's Mail Today where her column 'The Lahore Log' also appeared in The Daily Mail/MailOnline. Mehr 's commentary has appeared in The Economist's 1843, The Times of London, The Diplomat, India's Mail Today, The Daily Mail/MailOnline, Libas, The Friday Times, Herald, Pakistan Today, The News, The Nation and Pakistan Link. She was also the Editor for 'Multan: A Spiritual Legacy' which was presented to HM Queen Elizabeth in 2013. In 2018 she founded ZUKA, a social enterprise and set up ZUKA BOOKS in 2020.Mehr holds a MSc. in Asian Politics from SOAS, University of London and a BSc. in Politics with Business Management (Hons.) from Queen Mary, University of London. She was also accepted into an MPhil in South Asian Studies at St. Edmunds College, Cambridge.
M in a M alik -Hu ssain Mina Malik-Hussain is a writer and poet based in Lahore. Her literary work has appeared in Vallum, The Aleph Review and Scroll amongst other literary publications and she has had bylines in Architectural Digest, The News and The Nation, where she wrote a popular column for five years. Mina is currently enrolled in an MSt. in Creative Writing at Oxford University, and is the host of The Coffee Table, a talk show on national television. Photo credits: Nashmia Haroon at Nashmia Haroon Photography.
M ish a Ali Far h an a Misha Ali Farhana,is a grudging cartoonist and illustrator and also the Founding mother and Editor in chief of Behenchara Magazine. Pakistans first online e-zine that revolved purely around feminist themes.
SPOTLIGHT M eh vash Am in Mehvash Amin is an English language poet based in Lahore. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for her poem entitled ?Karachi?. Her poems have been published in various literary journals such asVallum,New International Poetics(Canada),Sugar Mule(USA),One Hand Clapping(UK),The Missing Slate,and books such asA Khanna?s Capitals(Bloomsbury) andThe Stained Glass Window(Liberty Books), amongst others. Mehvash has a publishing house, Broken Leg Publications, and is publisher and editor-in-chief ofThe Aleph Review,a yearly anthology of creative writing and art. She has also compered sessions for the Islamabad Literary Festival andEShe Magazine(India), besides participating in the Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore Literature Festivals.
M an dy San gh er a Mandy Sanghera is an award winning philanthropist, a community consultant and global campaigner. With over threedecades of experience, Mandyis an expert in various development related fields. She has been driving innovation, building strategic partnerships, promoting advocacy and programming in the areas of human rights, gender equality, accountability and social justice globally. Mandyhas helped hundredsof individuals and now reaches thousands through social media and her generous amount of worldwide TV appearances and public speaking engagements.
M in i Sh ivak u m ar M en on Mini Shivakumar Menon is a writer and English language trainer based in Kochi, Kerala, India. Mini?s short stories have been part of anthologies, and she has written twice for the prestigious annual catalogue of the Kolkata-based Seagull Books. Mini has a running blog where she occasionally posts prose and poetry. Her writing has its roots in her own experiences, as well as those of the others she has met and interacted with in the course of her life. Currently, she is attempting to write a full length novel. Mini has also worked as freelance journalist for leading publications in the UAE,
M an ish a Ch au dh r y
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Manisha Chaudhry has many years of experience as a publishing professional and in the social development sector. She began her professional career in India's first feminist publishing house 'Kali for Women' in 1986 and has been a consultant to a range of organizations in the development sector and the UN. An editor and translator fluent in Hindi and English, her work has been published by Kali for Women, Oxford University Press, Zubaan Books, Yatra Books, Niyogi Books, Pratham Books and Permanent Black. Her translationA Street in Srinagarof the Hindi novelAilan Gali Zinda Haiby Chandrakanta was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for Literature in 2012. Her most recent translationThe Chipko Movement:A People?s Historyof Shekhar Pathak?sHari Bhari Ummeedhas been well received. Manisha was Editorial Head, at Pratham Books, a not for profit multilingual children's publisher since its inception until 2017. She is a severally published author of children?s books and has translated numerous others. As one of the founder trustees of Bookaroo Children's Literature Festival, she spearheaded the initiative of Bookaroo in the City. The Children?s Outreach of the Jaipur Literature Festival was started under her guidance. She has been Adviser to the Kahani Festival and JUMPSTART, a children?s content congress run by the German Book Office. She is an invited member to the Publishing Committee of FICCI. She has been in the forefront of many new initiatives to democratize the joy of reading and books and improve equity in education. She works as an independent consultant for publishing and translation initiatives and is the co-founder of Manan Books.
M on i M oh sin Moni Mohsin was born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. She started her writing career at The Friday Times, Pakistan?s first independent weekly, where she served as the Features Editor. She is now a freelance journalist and author of three novels, the prize winning The End of Innocence, Tender Hooks and The Impeccable Integrity of Ruby R. Her best selling collection of satirical columns, The Dairy of a Social Butterfly and The Return of the Butterfly, are based on her long running column for The Friday Times.
Naim a Rash id Naima Rashid is a writer, poet, and translator. Her first book was "Defiance of the Rose" (Oxford University Press, 2019). Her writings have appeared in Asymptote, The Scores, Lucy Writers Platform, Visual Verse, among others. She was long-listed for the National Poetry Competition 2019. Her forthcoming works include a translation of the Urdu novel "NaulakhiKothi" by Ali Akbar Natiq (Penguin Random House India 2022), and her own fiction and poetry. She is presently based in the UK. Website: www.naimarashid.com
SPOTLIGHT Nat h alie Et oke Nathalie Etoke is Associate Professor of Francophone and Africana Studies at the Graduate Center, CUNY. Her articles have appeared in Research in African Literatures, French Politics and Culture, Nouvelles Études Francophones, Présence Francophone, the International Journal of Francophone Studies ,and the Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy. She is the authorof L'Écriture du corps féminin dans la littérature de l'Afrique francophone au sud du Saharaand ofMelancholia Africana l'indispensable dépassement de la condition noire, which won the 2012 Frantz Fanon Prize from the Caribbean Philosophical Association. In 2011, she directedAfro Diasporic French Identities, a documentary on race, identity and citizenship in contemporary France.?? ?
Nida Usm an Ch au dh ar y Nida Usman Chaudhary is one of the founding members of Authors Alliance Pakistan. She is an alumni of the prestigious The Writing Institute in Lahore. Her short story, 'Coming of Age' was published in 'The Stained-Glass Window', an anthology on stories of the pandemic from Pakistan, published by Liberty Books. She is working for the recognition of writing as an industry in Pakistan for which she curated the 'Rethinking Writing as an Industry' series with Olomopolo in 2019. She believes in protecting and promoting the work of Pakistani authors and its nascent writing industry and has curated several sessions on copyrights, piracy and other legal aspects of publishing under Lahore Education and Research Network in collaboration with The Writing Institute and Pakistan Lady Bloggers.
# W LF20 21 Nigh at Dad Nighat Dad is the Executive Director of the Digital Rights Foundation and a member of the Facebook oversight board. She's working on digital rights discourse in Pakistan along with cyber harassment, harassment, data protection, and free speech online. She identifies as a feminist and works to empower women through the use of ICTs. Nighat is the recipient of the prestigious Human Rights Tulip Award. She is also a TED Fellow and a TIME's Next Generation Leader.
Nw a Rizvi A writer and translator with a penchant for graphic art and photography, Nwa Rizvi's short stories have been featured in The Aleph Review, The Equator Line magazine, and the anthology The Banyan and Her Roots. A gold medalist with a B.A (Hons) in Liberal Arts from Beaconhouse National University, Lahore (BNU), and a certified teacher trainer from the University of Texas-Austin, she teaches English Literature at the Lahore College of Arts and Sciences (LACAS). She has been a Research and Teaching Assistant at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), and Beaconhouse National University. She is also an editor and content creator for 'Somewhere In Pakistan' ? an artist collective, supporting and curating art from all across the country. Red Drapes and Other Storiesis her first book.
SPOTLIGHT Ph yllis Ch esler Phyllis Chesler is an American writer,psychotherapist, andprofessor emeritaofpsychologyandwomen's studiesat theCollege of Staten Island(CUNY). She is known as afeministpsychologist, and is the author of 19 books, including the best-sellerWomen and Madness(1972),With Child: A Story of Motherhood(1979) andAn American Bride in Kabul: A Memoir (2013). Chesler has written on topics such as gender,mental illness, divorce andchild custody,surrogacy,second-wave feminism,violence against women and more. Her most recent work Requiem for a Serial Killer was published in November 2020.
Piyu sh a Vir A CELTA-certified English Language and Creative Writing Coach, Piyusha Vir quit her high-profile hotel sales career and turned to writing in 2015.Her writings on various platforms like Sheroes, LBB Delhi, Readomania,MomspressoandWomensWeb have won her many accolades and appreciation. She has authored three books - Just Another Day-a collection of thriller short stories, and Dashavatar-Stories of Lord Vishnu, both published by Readomania Publishing, Dasavatara (for children) published by Westland Publishing, under their children's imprint, Red Panda.
# W LF20 21 Pu r va Gr over Purva Grover is an author, journalist, poetess, playwright, and stage director. She is the founder-editor of The Indian Trumpet, a quarterly digital magazine for Indian expats, and works as the assistant editor with a UAE national daily, and editor, for a magazine for young adults. She is backed with a post-graduate degree in mass communication and literature. She resides in Dubai, UAE. She made her debut as an author with The Trees Told Me So. Born & brought up in colourful-chaotic India, she writes in English.
Rabban ia Sh ir jeel Rabbania Shirjeel is a Lahore based practicing visual Artist. She has recently completed her master ?s in Art and Design from Beaconhouse National University. Being the only Pakistani to have an honors degree in Photography, the idea of limiting to a single medium or working with specific interests is unfamiliar to her. Rabbania constantly questions the possibilities around photography and the way it is seen in Pakistan. She also works as an oral historian collecting stories and compiling them for her archive project. With that Rabbania is highly fascinated by history and Language especially Urdu. Recently she has completed a translation for a British council zine. Rabbania is also the founder of Tasweerghar.
SPOTLIGHT Radh ik a M air a Tabr ez Radhika Maira Tabrez is an award-winning writer, editor, writing coach, freelance and a motivational speaker. Her debut novel ?In The Light Of Darkness? won the covetedMuse India ? Satish Verma Young Writer Award. Her other books are The Emancipation Of Farzana Siddiqui, Sankaarak, Defiant Dreams, When They Spoke, Mock, Stock and Quarrel, and Better Parenting. She is thefirst Indianto ever speak at a TEDx event in Bangladesh. She won the Rising Stars India Award (2017), and 100 Most Inspiring Writers by Indian Awaaz (2018). She was one of the Program Mentors for Chevening Writers Series held in Penang, Malaysia 2020. She is also the founder of Roots & Wings ? a life skills enhancement program for children and adults. Her home is now split between Delhi, Dhaka and Penang, where she has moved most recently, in pursuit of a tranquil life away from the bustle of the big metropolis. She is currently brewing her third book; which she plans to commit to paper soon, while sitting on her balcony, overlooking the turquoise waters of Malacca Strait.
Rash in Ch ou dh r y Rashin Choudhry isprogram development advisorof the Fred Hollows Foundation inAustralia. She began working with The Foundation in 2004. In her current role, she is responsible for designing, developing, monitoring and evaluating high quality eyecare projects. She has also experience in developing comprehensive eye care projects including diabetic retinopathy, school screening and pediatric. Prior to joining The Foundation, she worked at The University of Sydney. She has more than 17 years of experience in international development and eye health issues. Rashinis a graduate ofUniversity of Sydney, where she received her B.Sc. in Pharmacology. She also holds Master Degree inPublic HealthfromUniversity of Sydney.
# W LF20 21 Rosem ar ie Hu dson Rosemarie Hudson was born in Jamaica and grew up in London.In 1998 she founded her first publishing company BlackAmber. Its ethos was to publish unheard voices in English and international languages, particularly writers and writings from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Among the many authors she published to critical acclaim during this period were Patricia Cumper, Alex Wheatle, Cauvery Madhavan, Rachel Manley, Yvonne Brewster and Gaston-Paul Effa. The company was later acquired by Arcadia. Rosemarie served on the board of the Book Trade Charity (BTBS) and is a mentor on the Arts Council project, Decibel. In 2010, Rosemarie started HopeRoad whose mission has been to promote literary voices from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, in exploring themes of identity, cultural stereotyping and injustices.HopeRoad?s authors include Tahar Ben Jelloun, Kamala Markandaya, Cauvery Madhavan, Pete Kalu, Ferdinand Dennis, Yan Ge, Max Lobe and Véronique Tadjo.
Saadia Gar dezi Saadia Gardezi is a journalist and political cartoonist from Pakistan. She is a Chancellor 's Scholar at Warwick University. Her research is focused on western and non-western political cartoons during the War on Terror era, exploring postcolonialism and international relations. She is the Co-Founder of Project Dastaan that records oral histories of survivors from the Partition of India and Pakistan and reconnects them to their ancestral homes across the India-Pakistan-Bangladesh borders using new technologies. She is a former Weidenfeld-Hoffman Leadership Scholar at Oxford University and has worked with various news outlets since 2010 including The Nation,Arab NewsandIndependent Urdu.
SPOTLIGHT Saba Kar im Kh an Saba Karim Khan is an author, award-winning filmmaker and educator, whose writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Wasafiri, Huff Post, EN Fuego, Verso, DAWN, Express Tribune, Think Progress. She has read Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and works at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her debut novel ? Skyfall ? was recently published by Bloomsbury. Her doc-film, Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home is now on Amazon Prime Video. Before joining the Academy, she worked as Country Marketing and Public Affairs Head at Citigroup. Born in Karachi, she now lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters. Saba Karim Khan can be contacted at sabak ar im k h an .com and via Twitter @SabaKarim.
Sabdezar Ir f an Sabdezar Irfan is a Visual Communication Designer with an equal love for illustration and literature. Based in Lahore, she's currently working as a freelance illustrator alongside working a corporate job hoping to fulfil her dream of telling the infinite stories inside her in the finite space of life.
San a M u n ir Sana Munir has two books of fiction to her name, including Unfettered Wings: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary Women (2018). She has co-edited an anthology of short fiction titled, The Stained-Glass Window: Stories of the Pandemic from Pakistan (2020). Sana writes book reviews for local newspapers and magazines.
# W LF20 21 Sar a Naveed Sara Naveed is the author of four books; Undying Affinity, Our Story Ends Here, All Of My Heart, and The World Between Us. All of them have been published by Penguin Random House India. She has done her primary education from Ibn Sina English High School, Sharjah and then matriculation from Convent of Jesus and Mary. Sialkot. Later, she went on to complete her Bachelors in business and got her Masters degree in Banking and Finance from UMT, Lahore. Being a writer has always been her dream. Having written in many fan fiction forums, Sara's interest grew and her writing skills improved. She earnestly hopes people appreciate her writing? an asset she deeply covets. Apart from writing fiction novels, she is working as a content head at a leading software firm. Currently, she is living with her family in Lahore.
Sau r av Du t t Saurav Dutt is a TIME magazine featured Author and Political Analyst whose work and commentary places a heavy emphasis on gender equality and women's rights, particularly domestic abuse and mental health awareness. His debut novel 'The Butterfly Room' collated the experienced of over one hundred domestic abuse survivors and his works have been featured and launched at the House of Lords, WEF, IKWRO, and alongside Booker Prize nominated Authors. He has just released a memoir based on a case of domestic abuse that captured international headlines. 'Fall in Light: A Mother 's Story' was co-written with the mother of Meera Dalal, a woman from the United Kingdom who took her own life after suffering from years of domestic abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, her abuse led to a protracted cycle of depression and mental wellness challenges that ultimately led her to take her own life at the age of 25. Saurav's works and commentary has been featured in GQ Magazine, CNN, Newsweek, Huffington Post, and more.
SPOTLIGHT Sh azaf Fat im a Shazaf Fatima is the mother of three children and author of two novels. She is currently working on her third novel to even things out. She is exhausted.
Sh eela Reddy Sheela Reddy has written extensively for leading Indian newspapers and journals during her 35 years in journalism. She is a former books editor of Outlook and her writing has appeared in literary magazines and in several anthologies and an edited volume of essays by Khushwant Singh titledWhy I Supported the Emergency. Mr and Mrs Jinnah is her first book.
Son iah Kam al Soniah Kamal is an award winning novelist, essayist and public speaker. Her most recent novel, Unmarriageable: Pride & Prejudice in Pakistan,is a Financial Times Readers' Best Book of 2019, a People's Magazine Pick, a 2019 'Books All Georgians Should Read,' a 2020 Georgia Author of the Year for Literary Fiction nominee, is shortlisted for the 2020 Townsend Award for Fiction, is a New York Public Library, a NPR Code Switch 2019 Summer Read Pick and more. Her debut novel, An Isolated Incident, was a finalist for the Townsend Award for Fiction and the KLF French Fiction Prize.Soniah's TEDx talk is about second chances and 'We are the Ink', her address at a U.S. Citizenship Oath Ceremony about transitions, and her keynote at the Jane Austen Festival about feminism and global connections. Soniah'swork has appeared in critically acclaimed anthologies and publications including The New York Times, Catapult, VIDA, Buzzfeed and more.www.soniahkamal.com twitter & instagram: @soniahkamal
# W LF20 21 Su n an din i Ban er jee Sunandini Banerjee is Senior Editor and Graphic Designer at Seagull Books. A digital collage artist as well as a translator from Bengali to English, she also teaches editing and design at the Seagull School of Publishing. She lives and works in Calcutta.
Su t apa Basu Sutapa Basu is a best-selling author. Her latest book,The Curse of Nader Shahwon the Best Fiction Award by AutHer Awards, 2020 instituted by JK Papers and The Times of India. She is the 2016 First Prize winner of The Times of India?s Write India Campaign for Amish Tripathi while her debut, a psychological thriller,Dangle was nominated for the Anupam Kher Award for Debut Novels in 2017. She is well-known for her best-selling historical fiction,Padmavati, The Queen Tells Her Own Story(2017, pub Readomania). Her second historical fiction initiated the Invader Series with The Legend of Genghis Khan (2018, pub Readomania) and continued withThe Curse of Nader Shah (2019, pub Readomania). Recently, her two anthologies, Out Of The Blue, Stories with a Twist and The Anatomy of Affection, Tales That Touch You (2020, pub Readomania) have been released. A cozy-mystery adventure,The Cursed Inheritance(2021, pub Readomania) was released in February this year. A poet, author, publishing professional, her short stories have appeared in anthologies, Crossed & Knotted, Defiant Dreams, When They Spoke and Write India Stories. Her poems have been published in Kaafiyana and The Dawn Beyond Waste. Sutapa also runs a live chat showBistro Buzz Conversations with Sutapa Basuthat hosts unique people from across spheres and the world.Read her works on her website storyfuntastika.com & Readomania.com.
SPOTLIGHT Taiba Abbas T. Biba Abbas is the founder of Àla Books and Authors and the co-author of Àla's upcoming publication The Night In Her Hair. Born in Pakistan, she grew up in Italy and holds a Master 's degree in Comparative Literature from SOAS, University of London. Her teaching career spans almost a decade, having taught courses in English literature, Film studies, Cultural studies, and Italian language and literature at universities and schools in Lahore and Islamabad.
Ur vash i Bu t alia Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminst writer, publisher and activist. She is known for her work in the women's movement of India, as well as for authoring books like the path-breaking The Other Side of Silence: Voices from and the Partition of India and Speaking Peace: Women's Voices from Kashmir. Along with Ritu Menon, she co-founded Kali For Women, India's first exclusively feminist publishing house, in 1984. In 2003, she founded Zubaan Books, an imprint of Kali for Women. In 2011, Butalia and Menon were jointly awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for their work in Literature and Education. Info courtesy: Wikipedia
Wajih a Hyder Wajiha Hyder is a journalist, currently working as an Assistant Editor at The News on Sunday (TNS), where she is responsible for the magazine?s Books and Travel sections. As a staff writer for the magazine, her writing mainly focuses on culture, books and stories from life. Over the years, she has built her career as a writer by writing features and personal essays on various subjects. Her debut short story appeared in the anthology, The Stained-Glass Window: Stories of the Pandemic from Pakistan. She has previously worked as a sub-editor and staff writer at Pakistan Today. Her work has also appeared inThe Missing Slatewhere she worked as a Contributing Editor. Wajiha holds an accounting qualification from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), UK, and has worked at Packages Ltd for four years. She currently resides in Lahore.
You sr a S Im r an
# W LF20 21
Yousra S Imran is an English-Egyptian hybrid who works and lives in West Yorkshire. She has been writing from the moment she learned how to hold a pen and works full time in marketing and events in the education sector. Yousra grew up between the UK and the Middle East and has a BA Hons in International Relations. She is passionate about women's rights and gender justice. Yousra lives with her husband in Bradford, Yorkshire.
Zah r a Ham eed Zahra Hameed is a creative director, content creator, writer, poetess, spoken word artist and positive living activist. A gold medalist in mass communication with over twenty years of experience in branding, advertising, concepts, strategy, creative writing, editorial design, print journalism, television, social media, fundraising, fashion magazines, interiors design, packaging and events. She is an advocate for body positivity, mental health and has her own social media platform on instagram and facebook called Dewanezahra.
Zar m in ae An sar i Zarminae Ansari is an architect and Cultural Tourism Consultant, who graduated with a Masters from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has served as visiting or guest lecturer at various leading educational institutions including the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, University of Karachi, BNUSVAD, and NCA Lahore. She has served on interview panels for the Fulbright scholarship program, the MIT Educational Council, and the United World Colleges, for which she herself was a recipient and credits for her commitment to service & activism. As a writer, she has written for national and international publications, including "Mazaar, Bazaar: Design and Visual Culture in Pakistan (OUP). Zarminae has also been a producer in different media. She conceived and produced a music video with one of the sub-continent's preeminent singers promoting tourism to the area, to encourage poverty alleviation, peace and development. This project was presented in conferences at MIT, and as a paper at NYU. Copies of the DVD were distributed to the entire UN Assembly on the day of the elections for the Security Council by ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon as a different image of Pakistan. She was Pakistan producer for "Another Pakistan": a set of interviews of architects, writers, artists and musicians by NPR's Christopher Lydon. Having lived in 12 cities/ 8 different countries around the world, Zarminae has studied different languages, including French and Russian. She brings her broad and varied experiences to what she calls her "bucket list", passion project: Joy of Urdu, a bilingual platform to promote Urdu language and literature.
SPOTLIGHT Ju h i Javed Hu sain Juhi Javed Husain is a well respected policy maker and lawyer with a breadth of experience in highly challenging fields in both in and out of government. A civil servant in the UK government, she is currently working on new and exciting digital and cyber harms regulation and breaking the ground on finding innovative solutions to the most pressing problems of our times. She advises ministers on policy matters and has a fantastic network within Westminster and Whitehall. Trained as a lawyer, she was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn. She is an advocate in the Punjab Courts and donates a large part of her time to giving free legal advice. She has collaborated with the World Bank as a legislative analyst and worked in sustainability with organisations such as Lahore Conservation Society, Justice UK, Environmental Law Foundation and more.
Eliza M ak h m ak h an ova Eliza Makhmakhanova 19 years old and am originally from Chechnya. She studies Media and Communication in University of Wollongong Dubai.
Sh ah en da ElSayed Shahenda ELSayed is an Egyptian and Dubai born and raised, I'm interested in filmmaking, literature and uplifting powerful women. I love learning more about feminist authors and filmmakers. I study media and communications at university, specialising in film production.
Fat im a Om ar My name is Fatima Omar, and I am a Pakistani- born, living in UAE for the last 8 years. I am currently studying at the University of Wollongong, Dubai, majoring in Visual Communication Design. My interests are in Graphic design, reading, and media. I enjoy reading and recently I have been enjoying the book "The Cruel Prince" by Holly black, as it is a young adult fantasy novel.
Partners & A l l i es Informat ion collat ed & writ t en by Ch i amak a A di nnu A nanke's O ffshore C orrespondent & Liaison M anager
Websit e: https://alabooksandauthors.com/ Social | In st agr am | Facebook @alabooksandauthors Tw it t er : AlaBooksAuthors
ALA BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Names are in alphabetical order
Àla Books and Authors came together as a space fostered by authors and their work, with a vision to inspire, redefine, and celebrate writing and publishing in Pakistan. Àla is a team of artists, writers, and teachers of literature who are passionate about harnessing their love for writing and teaching into the world of publishing. To create, to connect, to engage with a global community of new writers, in exploring the range and craft of their creativity. To reclaim and preserve a dynamic and ever growing literary heritage that has not been given its due. To tell the untold, and imagine the unimagined. Àla is a universal word that flows across cultures through translation. A word bridging two languages - 'wing' in Italian and 'ascendant' in Urdu the fusion of these two meanings of the same word is the guiding principle behind Àla Books and Authors. To connect, and to see our stories soar like words on the wing.
Social | Facebook @alabooksandauthors Tw it t er : AuthorsPk In st agr am : AuthorsAlliance
AUTHORS ALLIANCE PAKISTAN
Authors?Alliance - Pakistan is a collective of writers, publishers, bloggers, lawyers, concerned citizens and other stakeholders in order to establish a united platform for the promotion and protection of rights of Pakistani authors and other copyright holders by Awais Khan, Laaleen Sukhera, Mehr F. Husain, Sara Naveed and Nida Usman Chaudhary. It is a non-partisan, non-corporate and an independent collective seeking the protection and promotion of the interests of stakeholders of the writing industry in Pakistan that is faced with several challenges including, amongst others, piracy, hostile polices, dearth of literary agents and rising costs and lack of support for quality production and of efforts to ensure access of Pakistani books to regional and international markets. The Alliance is premised on the notions of non-discrimination, justice, equality, access, and advancement of stakeholders and believes in striving for a conducive environment for writing to flourish as an industry in Pakistan. Memberships will soon be open topersons, individuals, collectives, not-for-profits
CONTENTBUD Websit e: www.contentbud.co.uk
Names are in alphabetical order
ContentBud is a written communications consultancy based out of London, UK. The firm specializes in communications for businesses by putting the human element at the heart of business storytelling, and working in a framework focused on connection and collaboration rather than competition. ContentBud provides copywriting, content marketing, and written communication solutions. Business problems are human problems, the firm believes; addressing gaps in the way businesses tell their stories can drive powerful results and long-lasting impact. The firm is founded and led by a team of professionals with experience in diverse fields ranging from journalism, literature, education to finance and international development. This diversity of background and experience ensures that their approach to projects is defined equally by solid research, business acumen and creative spunk.
ESHE
Websit e: https://eshe.in Social: @esheworld
eShe is a monthly magazine and blog based in India and Canada that amplifies women?s voices and stories about our shared humanity. As a monthly magazine, their magazines are available to download or read online on eShe.in, Issuu and Magzter. With ideas, inspiration and an intimate look at the world through ?the female gaze?, eShe has touched the lives of millions of women and men worldwide since its launch in July 2017. They are proudly a platform for women writers, whether published or aspiring and periodically hold writing contests for them which have had a fantastic response both in terms of quantity and quality of entries: Flash Fiction Contest 2019 | Lockdown Poetry Contest 2020 | Short Story Contest 2020. In February 2021, eShe published an anthology of 25 short stories by 25 women writers from across India: Everything Changed After That (Embassy Books) edited by Aekta Kapoor. Aside being a monthly magazine, they are also a platform for women leaders from all fields with a vision for peacebuilding. eShe hosted its first Indo-Pak Peace Summit Led by Women over two days in January 2021, bringing together over 40 eminent women from around the world to discuss solutions for peace in South Asia. Many of their articles are syndicated to Money Control and are translated to Malayalam on Azhimukham. They have also syndicated to CNBCTV18 and News 18 in the past. The magazine has been a media partner for The Economic Times SDGs Summit 2020, Grant Thornton SABERA 2020 Awards, and Women Economic Forum 2017. It has been ranked 22 among the top women?s magazines in the world by content aggregator Feedspot. eShe is committed to the idea of being the change they wish to see in the world. They believe that positive and creative energy capable of transforming the world can be generated when we invest in each individual?s personal growth and self-transformation. As such, the magazine has recently launched its trademarked series of personal-growth workshops for women and teenagers called Shine Your Light®. These are travelling across India and are held in groups of 30 to 40 participants.
READOM ANIA
Websit e: https://www.readomania.com Social: @Iamreadomania
Readomania is an initiative that nurtures reading and writing. It is an online publishing platform for budding authors; a place to share stories and poems; a place to explore your creative talent.
Names are in alphabetical order
Established in September 2016, Readomania's annual publishing list was streamlined from 2016 onwards. Their list includes literary, midlist, and commercial fiction across multiple genres, short stories, poetry, non-fiction, and children?s fiction. For this publishing platform, diversity in content is the current focus of their publishing programme, as they desire to bring in as many flavours as possible. Currently, they delve into mythology retelling, historical fiction, period drama, crime, thriller, romance, short stories, poetry, children?s fiction, humour - to name but a few. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Readomania is the talent hunt in fiction. It goes a step beyond by not just identifying the talent but also nurturing it and showcasing it to the world. In the process, they create a powerhouse of content online and in print. Presently, Readomania has four principal interest areas ? traditional print publishing, online library of short stories and poetry, literary services, and products. In addition, they also have a digital imprint of books aptly named Readomania Shots. For those books whose content are compelling but may not make commercial sense to publish it in print due to the market dynamics and cost economics, Readomania publishes those manuscripts in digital ebook formats. These books are available on Kindle, Kobo, and Google Books. Amidst other publishing platforms, what stands Readomania out is the extent of support and help they offer to budding authors to create a body of literature that everyone can be proud of. The site also has a lot in store for the reader. Since the content is edited and curated, readers get quality reads on a platter. The variety on Readomania is impressively vast; including romance, emotions, thrills, travel, humour, and drama. It boasts of stories that touch your heart, inspire you, make you laugh, and even make you cry. With Readomania books, you experience a roller coaster ride that you are bound to always remember in your lifetime.
Websit e: https://www.seagullbooks.org
SEAGULL BOOKS
Social: Tw it t er | In st agr am | @seagullbooks Facebook : @Seagull.books
Seagull Books publishes world literature in English translation, serious non-fiction, culture studies, performance studies, art and cinema, with attention to exquisite design and world-class production. Seagull Books was founded by Naveen Kishore in 1982 as an independent Indian publishing house specializing in serious books on art, theatre and cinema. It published plays by major Indian playwrights, monographs and essays by leading Indian artists, filmscripts from the best-known Indian and European filmmakers, along with academic titles on culture, society and the various arts. Since 2005, Seagull Books London Limited has ventured into newer fields of publishing, including English translations of fiction and non-fiction by major African, European, Asian and Latin American writers. It now boasts of a backlist of over 500 titles. Beginning with authors such as Guillaume Apollinaire, Jean-Paul Sartre, Roland Barthes, Jorge Luis Borges, Theodor W. Adorno, Aimé Césaire, Thomas Bernhard, Edward Said, André Gorz, Satyajit Ray, Peter Weiss and Max Frisch, Seagull Books now represents major contemporary writers such as Yves Bonnefoy, Philippe Jaccottet, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Mahasweta Devi, Peter Handke, Pascal Quignard, Hélène Cixous, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Sibylle Lewitscharoff, Marc Augé and many more. The hallmark 'Africa List' presents writers such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Maryse Condé, Ivan Vladislavi?, William Kentridge, Kossi Efoui and Abdourrahman A. Waberi. European writers lesser known to the English-speaking world are also showcased by Seagull? Ralf Rothmann, Tilman Rammstedt, Inka Parei, Dorothee Elmiger, Tomas Espedal. The list expands daily . . . In 2012, Seagull author Mo Yan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature while in 2015, Laszlo Krasznahorkai, another Seagull author, received the prestigious Man Booker International Prize. Maryse Condé, whose three volumes Seagull has published in English translation, won the alternative Nobel Prize in 2018. Info source: Seagull Books
YODA PRESS
Websit e: http://yodapress.co.in Social: @Yodapress
Yoda Press is a publishing house in India, with its headquarters located at Shahpur Jat, Siri Fort, New Delhi. It is known for publishing on subjects such as sexuality, popular culture, cities and urbanism, architecture as a lived experience, and new perspectives in Indian history and sociology.
Names are in alphabetical order
Yoda Press' early reputation was built on its queer list, on publications such as Sunil Gupta's photo-memoir, Wish You Were Here; the illustrated A Little Book on Men; and Loving Women: Being Lesbian in Unprivileged India. In 2010, Yoda's publishing programme expanded to include travelogues, memoirs, books on food, poetry, and even fiction. However, the emphasis was on narratives that challenged the mainstream discourse. Founded in 2004 with an alternative publishing vision, Yoda Press aims to create lists around subjects that are not usually a priority for other publishers in India, even though they have a critical presence in contemporary discourse, authorship and an audience. Their LGBT list and Sexualities series have been the preferred home for cutting-edge writing in alternative sexuality since 2005. In August 2015, Yoda Press initiated a joint imprint with Sage Publications for their academic titles, SAGE-YODA PRESS. More recently, in 2020, Yoda Press has established another brand new joint imprint with Simon & Schuster India for its trade books with the Press's characteristic political edge. Following this, the first title featured on this joint imprint, Azadi: A Graphic Biography of Bhagat Singh (in reference to Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the famous revolutionary martyr of India) was published in April 2020. Yoda Press launched its Fiction list in December 2016 and has since then, published a number of internationally recognized fiction work. In this same year, Yoda Press became the Winner of the Publishing Next Publisher of the Year Award 2016 at the Publishing Next Conference, held annually in Goa, India.
Websit e: www.zukabooks.com Social: In st agr am : @zuka.books
ZUKA BOOKS
Tw it t er : @mfhusayn
Zuka Books is a publishing house in Lahore, Pakistan. Established in August 2020 it is building a name for publishing on subjects that push for more creative space and encourage dialogue on issues that remain unacknowledged, forgotten or simply, ignored. Zuka Books was founded by the journalist Mehr F Husain as an independent platform that would focus on books that acted a documentation of Pakistani history and culture. However, upon entry there was the realisation that there were many more stories that needed to be told, so much more had to be added to the literary industry and so Zuka Books opened up to poetry, graphic novels and children?s books. From its first publication, Zuka Books publications have had a national impact. Its first publication -?Pakistan: A Fashionable History? ? is Pakistan?s first book on fashion and its role in the creation of the country?s pop scene. Not only was it well received as a book but it has become a reference point for universities who drew lectures from it and as a research entity. ?The Burning Champa?, a non-fiction poetry book was picked up by a fashion brand resulting in a nationwide campaign featuring the author and book was created which addressed women and the need to acknowledge their mental health as a serious matter as well as body positivity pushing for inclusivity and ending body-shaming. In 2021, Zuka Books collaborated with the Lahore based entity, The Desi Collective, to release an anthology titled ?Letters to My Inner Child?where works in both English and Urdu addressed the need for Pakistanis to heal internally and help them connect with the inner self. These are all topics that are considered ?unacceptable?for public discourse and have actively generated conversations creating an impact which is being felt and absorbed by society and so far, being tolerated. Zuka Books?latest offering is a graphic novel which addresses the sensitive topic of desi marriages and what happens when the marriage breaks down. The first of its kind, ?Grey Matter ? is a new means of communicating issues surrounding marriages, domestic life, children and the emotional journey of a woman in the wake of it all. Future publications include a documentation of the history of wall chalkings in Pakistan and its role in communication as well as the release of a children?s book that advocates for animal rights and protection. Though young, Zuka Books is determined to create works of art that push creative boundaries and encourage more tolerance for the written word and freedom of expression.
Websit e: https://zubaanbooks.com Social | Tw it t er | In st agr am : @ZubaanBooks In st agr am : @Zubaanprojects
ZUBAAN BOOKS
Names are in alphabetical order
Zubaan Publishers is a New Delhi-based leading independent feminist publishing house with an NGO wing that chronicles and participates in women's movements in India and South Asia. It was set up in 2003 as an imprint of India's first feminist publishing house, Kali for Women, and has a strong academic and general list.Learn more about Zubaan's projects here: https://zubaanprojects.org and browse their ebooks here: https://zubaanbooks.com/product-category/ebooks/. Follow them on social media to stay informed and updated about their initiatives - they are @zubaanbooks on twitter, and @zubaanbooks and @zubaanprojects on Instagram.
CONTACT US
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