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Discover poetry, interviews, fiction, and more, published by Wasafiri.

Photo of Mahmood Mamdani
Justice Not Revenge: An Interview with Mahmood Mamdani
I doubt the incongruity was lost on him. The Langham in Portland Place and the BP Theatre in the British Museum are perhaps not the best places for a renowned commentator on the injustices of colonialism and its legacies in Africa to speak his mind.
Nonfiction
Photo of Derek Walcott
Derek Walcott Obituary by Louis James
Louis James was Walcott’s guest on his visit to Trinidad in 1973, discussing issues of Caribbean poetry, and watching the Little Carib Theatre group rehearse one of Walcott’s plays.
Nonfiction
Photo of Jo Stones
The Lotus Instructions by Jo Stones
Jo Stones has lived in South London for thirty-four years, having been born and bred in Sheffield then New Zealand. She returned to study as an adult, graduated with a degree in film and works as an archivist for Film and TV.
Fiction
Photo of Aurvi Sharma
Five Minute Interview with Aurvi Sharma
Aurvi Sharma has been awarded the Gulf Coast Non-fiction Prize, the Prairie Schooner Essay Prize, the Wasafiri New Writing Prize in Life Writing, the AWP Emerging Writer Scholarship, and a Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award.
Nonfiction
Photo of Steve Noyes
Burning Swarm of Ali by Steve Noyes
Twilight had come and passed over his shoulders and bent head, like a crow. *** … Ali stood on the promontory watching his house burn down, a terrestrial crown of flame within the dark blue heavens.
Fiction
Photo of Anita Pati
Five Minute Interview with Anita Pati
Anita Pati won the Wasafiri New Writing Prize (poetry) in 2013, has been a Jerwood/Arvon mentee and was one of 2015’s Aldeburgh Eight winners.
Nonfiction
Photo of Lawrence Scott
A Conversation with Lawrence Scott
On Memory and the Archives of Caribbean History … A Conversation with Lawrence Scott … Lawrence Scott is the acclaimed author of four novels—Witchbroom (1992), Aelred’s Sin (1998), Night Calypso (2004), and Light Falling on Bamboo (2012). He has also published two story collections…
Nonfiction
Photo of Mia Couto
Mia Couto talks to Brian Chikwava
Mia Couto rarely comes to London. He is here for the Rolex Mentor & Protégé Arts Initiative.
Nonfiction
Photo of Simon Van der Velde
Five Minute Interview with Simon Van der Velde
Simon Van der Velde was born and educated in Newcastle upon Tyne where he trained and practiced as a lawyer, before leaving the legal profession to concentrate full time on his writing.  He now lives in Newcastle with his wife and two tyrannical children.
Nonfiction
Photo of Ann Field
A Red Glow in the Night by Ann Field
Ollie was just about to jump when he heard footsteps walking towards him across the stone bridge. Standing frozen on the wall, he never considered anyone approaching at this time of night. Ollie never moved and kept his eyes on the fast flowing water below while he waited for the person to pass.
Fiction
Photo of Gita Ralleigh
Five Minute Interview with Gita Ralleigh
Gita Ralleigh completed her MA in creative writing at Birkbeck in 2015 and has had short stories published by Wasafiri, Bellevue Literary Review, Fox Spirit, the Word Factory and Freight (February 2017).
Nonfiction
Book cover of The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare
Review: The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare; translated by John Hodgson
Ismail Kadare’s novel opens with the backdrop of a bustling city square in Constantinople, in the heart of the Ottoman Empire. There is an ancient stone wall in the square, into which a cavity has been carved, and in this cavity, on a dish of honey and salt, sits a human head.
Nonfiction
Photo of Cliff Chen
Five Minute Interview with Cliff Chen
Cliff Chen is a Trinidadian-born writer. He has published several short stories and was winner of the Wasafiri New Writing Prize for Life Writing (2013) and also shortlisted for fiction category that same year.
Nonfiction
Photo of Ali May
Rita by Ali May
Read this short story by Ali May, in which a young couple in Tehran, Nima and Rita, are planning their immigration to Canada when they are faced with a sudden medical crisis.   
Fiction
Photo of Jaki McCarrick
Five Minute Interview with Jaki McCarrick
Jaki McCarrick is an award-winning writer of plays, poetry and fiction.
Nonfiction
Photo of Janine Rich
Israeli Summer by Janine Rich
Kaitz Israeli (Israeli Summer) -was the name of the movie marathon playing on yes.vod that summer The trailer played     constant nostalgic music droning over images of young, dark haired actresses.
Poetry
Photo of Irenosen Okojie
Interview with Irenosen Okojie
Irenosen Okojie is a writer and Arts Project Manager. Her debut novel Butterfly Fish won a Betty Trask award. Her work has been featured in The Observer, The Guardian, the BBC and the Huffington Post amongst other publications. Her short stories have been published internationally.
Nonfiction
Photo of Catharine Mee
Five Minute Interview with Catherine Mee
Catharine Mee grew up in Birkenhead and now lives in Durham. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University and a PhD in French and Italian literature. Her stories have been published in Wasafiri, The Salt Anthology of New Writing 2013, Unthology and Prole, as well as online.
Nonfiction
Book cover of Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins next to photo of author
Whatever Happened to Interracial Love by Kathleen Collins: Book Review
The legacy of Kathleen Collins - Civil Rights Movement activist, pioneering film-maker, talented writer - is only coming to light in recent years.
Nonfiction
Photo of Koye Oyedeji
Postscript From The Black Atlantic by Koye Oyedeji
1. IT DIDN’T SEEM TO MATTER THAT THE FIRST GIRL WENT MISSING WHILE HE WAS STILL AT SEA.
Fiction
Photo of Jacqueline Crooks
Skinning Up by Jacqueline Crooks
Riley stepped outside the shebeen. Steam was coming off her body. She pulled the grey rabbit-skin jacket around her. Her brown face was bloodless, leeched by the airless underground club. Five o’clock in the morning and she’d had enough of the dub and skanking.
Fiction
Photo of Richard Scott
Five Minute Interview with Richard Scott
Richard Scott was born in London in 1981. His poems have appeared widely in magazines and anthologies including Poetry Review, Poetry London, Swimmers, The Poetry of Sex (Penguin) and Butt Magazine.
NonfictionPoetry
Photo of Buchi Emecheta
A Sort-of Career: Remembering Buchi Emecheta
Buchi Emecheta was a phenomenon, as an immigrant, a writer and a black single-mother surviving in the hostile conditions of London in the 60s and onwards.
Nonfiction
Photo of Jane Ryan
Five Minute Interview with Jane Ryan
Jane Ryan co-won the Wasafiri New Writing Fiction Prize in 2010. She is currently working with secondary schools who have adopted her recently launched teen spy thriller series Missing Dad 1: Wanted (Troubador) for use with library reading groups. Book 2:
Nonfiction