The Bookblast 10×10 Tour – The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write

Thursday 25 October • Waterstones, Birmingham • 6.30 p.m.

Chair: Elizabeth Briggs, editor and marketing manager, Saqi Books, (writing from the Middle East). Founded in 1983 in West London, Saqi Books publish general interest and academic books on North Africa and the Middle East.

Birmingham-born spoken word artist, playwright and poet, Nafeesa Hamid’s work engages with the issues of mental health, domestic violence, gender, identity and culture. @NafeesaHamid

Aliyah Holder is a spoken word poet and creative producer who founded “Her Story Live” in 2015. As part of spoken word duo A2, she is currently working on a “Random Acts” Film for Channel 4. @aliyahhasinah

Book focus: The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, (2017), edited by Sabrina Mahfouz, celebrates writing by 22 British Muslim women from Algiers to Brighton. From established literary heavyweights to emerging spoken word artists, the writers in this collection blow away the narrow image of the “Muslim Woman”. Among stories of honour killings and ill-fated love in besieged locations, we also find heartwarming connections and powerful challenges to the status quo.