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Hafsa Zayyan
Photo: Sylvain Durand
Hafsa Zayyan
United Kingdom
Hafsa (born 1991) is a London-based writer and lawyer and the joint-winner of Stormzy's #Merky Books New Writers' Prize of 2019, dedicated to telling 'stories that are not being told', for her debut novel We Are All Birds of Uganda. In an interview, Hafsa says about her historical fiction novel: “The story is about colourism, and I think for me, being a mixed Black and Asian person, the culture clash and colourism is not something ever really discussed."
Her next publication is to be expected for May 2023.
What you can't miss:
1960s UGANDA. Hasan struggles to keep his family business afloat following the sudden death of his wife. As he begins to put his shattered life back together piece by piece, a new regime seizes power, and a wave of rising prejudice threatens to sweep away everything he has built. Present-day LONDON. Sameer, a young high-flying lawyer, senses an emptiness in what he thought was the life of his dreams. Called back to his family home by an unexpected tragedy, Sameer begins to find the missing pieces of himself not in his future plans, but in a heritage he never knew. The novel explores racial tensions, generational divides and what it means to belong.
Reviews:
More on Hafsa:
How she wrote her debut novel
TOP 10 books about dual identity - How to balance and reconcile different heritages
PODCAST episode with The Amplify Project
Portrait on Bad Form
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