The home of British Asian writing, The Asian Writer is a literary hub for readers and writers interested in British and South Asian literature. The website was founded in 2007 by Farhana Shaikh with the aim of providing a platform for new and emerging writers to showcase their work.
Since then, the site has featured nearly 200 writers, provided courses and mentoring, run a short story prize recognising exceptional talent and become a community for Asian voices in the UK.
Founder
Farhana Shaikh is a writer and publisher born in Leicester. She established Dahlia Books, a small press from the corner of her kitchen. Farhana won the Penguin/Travelex Next Great Travel Writer prize. She was longlisted for the Spread the Word Life Writing Prize for her memoir about growing up in 1980s Leicester. Her short play ‘Risk’ was produced as part of Kali Theatre’s discovery programme and staged at Curve Leicester. Her first novel, No Place for a Young Woman was longlisted in the Women’s Prize #Discoveries2023. Farhana teaches marketing at De Montfort University and is the project lead for the Middle Way Mentoring project. You can contact her via email editor@theasianwriter.co.uk