The Holy Family at the Border by Margaret Pritchard Houston
They have walked all night … through the desert, this couple: José y Maria … and the baby. duermete mi niño … duermete por favor. … Por favor. … Their English isn’t great – they’ve got a bit. Yes sir. No sir. Thank you sir. They’ve got that down pat.
Poetry
Writing Britain Now: The Books of Sheffield and Newcastle
Comma Press’s ‘Reading the City’ series has been traversing the globe since 2006, sourcing a selection of ten authors from specific cities to collate ten short stories that depict the social, historical or political essence of their contemporary city.
Nonfiction
Picong by Desirée Seebaran
‘Picong’ is a Trinidadian word for taunting, and this poem addresses the experiences of colourism and cruelty that are so insidious and ubiquitous, not only culturally but within families.
Poetry
Wasafiri Wonders: Anthony Joseph
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of? Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you.
Interviews
Natural Causes by Ruby D. Jones
‘Natural Causes’ deftly narrates two parallel stories: of the narrator’s discovery of a dead blue tit in her garden, and her reflections on the death of a close friend, whose death—of natural causes or by suicide?—is an unresolved presence in her life.
Nonfiction
'I am always writing a novel': In Conversation with Romesh Gunesekera
Florian Stadtler speaks to Sri Lankan British novelist Romesh Gunesekera. Here, Gunesekera further expands on themes and concerns his work engages, first brought up in his interview with Wasafiri founder Susheila Nasta for 'An Island is a World': One to One with Romesh Gunesekera, published in our 35th anniversary issue – Wasafiri 100.
Interviews
Third Person Female by Alicia Mietus
The fraught intricacies of a mother-daughter relationship form the core of 'Third Person Female', woven from the fabric of day-to-day life, shared cooking, childhood memories—and the differences of age and culture that flare up in the face of a new and unexpected relationship.
Fiction
Writing Britain Now: Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan’s debut poetry collection, Postcolonial Banter, was published by Verve Poetry Press in 2019. It features some of her most well-known and widely performed poems as well as some never-seen-before material.
Nonfiction
Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2019: Winners Announced
The winners of the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2019, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year, were announced at our 35th birthday festival, 'An Island Full of Voices: Writing Britain Now', at the British Library on 9 November.
Nonfiction
An Island Full of Voices Is Almost Here
On the 9 November, Wasafiri will bring together readers, writers and past contributors from all over the world for a day of workshops, talks and debates on the challenges and potentials of writing within, and through, our current fraught times. Featuring:
Wasafiri Wonders: Hamid Ismailov
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of? Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you. … Describe your first drafts in one sentence. … The same unreadable scribbles, but with one overarching rule:
Interviews
Photographs, Photography and the Photographer: George Szirtes
Since the late 1980s, the poet George Szirtes has published many collections of poems including the monumental New and Collected Poems (2008). His latest publication is The Photographer at Sixteen (2019), a memoir of his mother’s life recounted in reverse and based on many photographs.
Jo Lloyd on Winning the 2019 BBC National Short Story Award
Last week, Jo Lloyd won the 2019 BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University for her short story, ‘The Invisible’, which is available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app, or here.
Literature Must Fall: Festival Highlights
Last month, Birmingham played host to its first decolonial literature festival: ‘Literature Must Fall’. A day-long event held in the city centre, the festival brought together writers, editors and academics to explore what it could mean to decolonise and demystify literature today.
Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2019: Shortlist
The shortlist of the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize 2019 has been announced, with five shortlisted writers each in the categories of Fiction, Life Writing, and Poetry. The winners will be announced on 9 November 2019 at the British Library as part of our 35th birthday celebrations:
Nonfiction
Writing Britain Now: Deirdre Shanahan
Deirdre Shanahan's debut novel Caravan of The Lost and Left Behind (Bluemoose Books) tells several untold stories of individuals who live in but at the fringes of mainstream British society — those on the roads…
Nonfiction
Of Braids and Blades: Fighting the Ghosts of Kashmir
The essay by Amrita Sharma and Peerzada Raouf, and extracted from issue 99 of Wasafiri, is second in a series of ethnographic writings documenting events and practices that make the Kashmiri people’s resistance today.
Nonfiction
Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize: 2019 longlist with judges
The 2018 Wasafiri New Writing Prize Winners and Judges. (L to R):
Nonfiction
Wasafiri Wonders: Tabish Khair
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of? Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you.
Interviews
'Get Up, Stand Up Now': Zak Ové speaks to Susheila Nasta
Libita Clayton, ‘BS2-RESIST & REVOLT BLACK HISTORY, LIVE TRANSMISSION’. Image courtesy of artist.
Nonfiction
Writing Britain Now: Ashley Hickson-Lovence
Ashley Hickson-Lovence's debut novel, The 392, is set almost entirely on a London bus over just 36 minutes, and was released in April 2019 (OWN IT!).
Nonfiction
Wasafiri Wonders: Joshua Whitehead
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of?
Interviews
Wasafiri Wonders: Diana Evans
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of? Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you. Diana Evans is the author of Ordinary People, The Wonder, and 26a.
Interviews
Wasafiri Wonders: Dean Atta
Ever wondered what your favourite writer’s first drafts look like? Or which book they love that nobody’s heard of? Wasafiri Wonders is a series that asks these questions for you.
Interviews