Living as a Brown Woman in Britain - Birmingham

What challenges and opportunities does life throw up for women today? And how might writing and fiction help guide and inspire them?Join three of today’s most popular, forthright, and talented British Asian women writers, Preethi Shenoy, Anika Hussain and Christine Pillainayagam, who have all written openly about their own life experiences or used them to create fictional characters and storylines that will resonate with women, (and men), of all ages.An evening of honest, no-holds barred discussion, where no topic is too sensitive, too serious, or too much fun to tackle.
This event forms part of the DESIblitz Literature Festival 2024.About the AuthorsPreethi Nair
Preethi worked as a management consultant and gave it up to follow her dream and write her first book, Gypsy Masala. Having been rejected by most publishers, she set up her own publishing company and PR agency to publish and promote the book all whilst putting on a suit and pretending to go to work. Working under the alias of Pru, Preethi managed to gain substantial coverage and after two years of a roller-coaster journey, she signed a three-book deal with HarperCollins. She won an Asian Women of Achievement Award for her endeavours and “Pru” was also shortlisted as Publicist of the Year for the PPC awards. Having never acted before (not even at school), Preethi went on to write, act and produce Sari: The Whole Five Yards, a sell-out one-woman show in the West End. Preethi adapted this play into the novel Unravelling, which has been optioned for television.
Preethi is also visiting professor at various business schools, teaching modules on creativity for personal leadership.
“Preethi Nair is a one-woman whirlwind” – HarperCollinsAnika Hussain
Anika Hussain is a graduate of the Bath Spa MAWYP. Not having seen herself in the books she read as a teenager, she writes YA novels with South Asian characters at the heart of the story. Aside from writing and working as an Operations Manager, Anika is involved with the Hawkins Project, founded by Dave Eggers, to elevate the voices of young people in the publishing industry. Anika has been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize for her debut novel This Is How You Fall in Love and Desi Girl Speaking is her latest novel. Anika resides in Bristol. @huanika @HotKeyBooksChristine PillainayagamChristine Pillainayagam is a writer and retail strategist. A fascination with The Beatles and the desire to write a story that reflected her own experiences growing up as a first-generation immigrant, led her to write her debut novel, Ellie Pillai is Brown. A singer and songwriter, she also writes a blog: thelittlebrownbook.co.uk

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Waterstones, 24-26 High Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom