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Brought to you by Penguin

Filled with empathy and wisdom personal experiences and creative inspiration this is a vital collection of essays on the power of literature and the craft of writing from an international array of writers of colour

What if we reconsidered our assumptions about how fiction should be written And can we then apply our discoveries to both what we read and how we read This book explores these questions and encourages us into a more inclusive conversation about storytelling featuring

Taymour Soomro on resisting rigid stories about who you are
Madeleine Thien on how writing builds the room in which it can exist
Amitava Kumar on why authenticity isnt a license we carry in our wallets
Tahmima Anam on giving herself permission to be funny
Ingrid Rojas Contreras on the bodily challenge of writing about trauma
Zeyn Joukhadar on queering English and the power of refusing to translate ourselves
Kiese Laymon on hearing that no one wants to read the story that you want to write
Deepa Anappara on writing even through conditions that impede the creation of art

Plus essays from Tiphanie Yanique Xiaolu Guo Jamil Jan Kochai Vida CruzBorja Femi Kayode Nadifa Mohamed in conversation with Leila Aboulela Myriam Gurba Mohammed Hanif and Sharlene Teo

Read by Deepa Anaparra Taymour Soomro Madeleine Thien Amitava Kumar Tahmima Anam Tiphanie Yanique Marisol Ramirez Cindy Kay Zeyn Joukhadar Jamil Jan Kochai Nic Villasenor Cary Hite Simone McIntyre Susan Nezami Carolina Hoyos Aaron Goodson Mohammed Hanif and Mirai

Bracing and moving No one interested in how we read and should read fiction can afford to miss this Pankaj Mishra author of Run And Hide

Electric essays that speak to the experience of writing from the periphery a guide a comfort and a call all at once Laila Lalami author of Conditional Citizens

A whipsmart collection Kamila Shamsie author of Best of Friends

2023 Edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro P2023 Penguin Audio