Salisbury Literary Festival: Q&A with Ayisha Malik

Today I'm delighted to welcome Ayisha Malik to the blog to chat about her latest book This Green and Pleasant Land as well as her appearance at Salisbury Literary Festival later this month.

Welcome back to the blog Ayisha, I can't believe it's been 4 years since I hosted a Q&A with you on publication day for your debut novel.  Can you give us a brief recap/intro to yourself and your writing journey.  Thanks for having me back! My debut novel was Sofia Khan is not Obliged and it was followed by its sequel, The Other Half of Happiness. SKINO was a CityRead London book this year so it was nice to relive talking about my first book. More recently, my third novel, This Green and Pleasant Land, was published. 

I’d always wanted to be a writer and I’d been told that the best way to get published is to work in a publishing house… I guess it worked since I spent several years working in publishing. First as a publicist at Penguin Random House and then as an editor at Cornerstones Literary Consultancy. 

How did you feel to be invited to be a part of this year's Salisbury Literary Festival?  And what are you most looking forward to about your event? (Sadly I cannot attend your event due to a scheduling clash so hope to hear all about it from a friend instead).

It's lovely to be invited to a festival so close to Dorset, which is where I went to research This Green and Pleasant Land – though it’s not explicitly set there, it is very much based on West Dorset. I’m looking forward to chatting to readers and the audience about the book and the writing process.  

If  you had to give an elevator pitch for This Green and Pleasant Land, what would it be?
When I first told my agent about the story I had in mind she called it a cross between The Vicar of Dibley and The Casual Vacancy. This was pleasing. 

Everyone has a place they call home. But who gets to decide where you belong?

Emma's Review: The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain

Reviewed by Emma Crowley

The four Amir sisters – Fatima, Farah, Bubblee and Mae – are the only young Muslims in the quaint English village of Wyvernage.

On the outside, despite not quite fitting in with their neighbours, the Amirs are happy. But on the inside, each sister is secretly struggling.

Fatima is trying to find out who she really is – and after fifteen attempts, finally pass her driving test. Farah is happy being a wife but longs to be a mother. Bubblee is determined to be an artist in London, away from family tradition, and Mae is coping with burgeoning Youtube stardom.

Yet when family tragedy strikes, it brings the Amir sisters closer together and forces them to learn more about life, love, faith and each other than they ever thought possible.

Amazon Links: Kindle or Hardcover

Debut Spotlight: Ayisha Malik

It's publication day for today's debut spotlight guest Ayisha Malik and her debut novel Sofia Khan is Not Obliged which is the first title in a brand new imprint from Bonnier, called Twenty7, which only publishes work by debut novelist, first in ebook and later in paperback.

Ayisha is a British Muslim, lifelong Londoner, and lover of books. She read English Literature at Kingston University and went on to complete an MA in Creative Writing (though told most of her family it was an MA in English Literature – Creative Writing is not a subject, after all.)

She has spent various spells teaching, photocopying, volunteering and being a publicist. Now, when she isn’t searching for a jar of Nutella in her cupboards, she divides her time between writing, being an editor, and studying.

Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged is Ayisha’s debut novel. @Ayisha_Malik  

'Brilliant idea! Excellent! Muslim dating? Well, I had no idea you were allowed to date.' Then he leaned towards me and looked at me sympathetically. 'Are your parents quite disappointed?'

Unlucky in love once again after her sort-of-boyfriend/possible-marriage-partner-to-be proves a little too close to his parents, Sofia Khan is ready to renounce men for good. Or at least she was, until her boss persuades her to write a tell-all expose about the Muslim dating scene.

As her woes become her work, Sofia must lean on the support of her brilliant friends, baffled colleagues and baffling parents as she seeks stories for her book. But in amongst the marriage-crazy relatives, racist tube passengers and polygamy-inclined friends, could there be a lingering possibility that she might just be falling in love . . . ?

Can you tell us a little bit about your debut novel Sofia Khan is Not Obliged? What prompted you to start writing it? 
A mixture of being bored with the way Muslims are constantly portrayed in the media and hearing so many bonkers stories about Muslim dating. Not only are single Muslim women (and men, I guess) trying to find a partner with whom they can share their life within these cultural limitations, but they’re also having to explain that they don’t believe in terrorism, forced marriages and yes, are particular about the meat they eat. There’s a sense of this constant justification and explanation – whether it’s to the outside world about the aforementioned or family about your state of single-ness. I thought it’d be good to intertwine the two in a light-hearted way. My aim was to create a strong Muslim character that challenged common misconceptions (no, we’re not oppressed) who was relatable – I wanted the fact that she’s Muslim to become almost incidental. It’s also a bit of a tribute to London – I’m not sure there’s anywhere else in the world where the things that happen in this story, would actually happen.  

How much research into online Muslim dating did you have to do to enable you to write about that element of the storyline? 
A fair bit, actually. I did join marriage/dating websites and it all proved very useful for the end product. 

Are any of the dates featured in the book based on your own experiences of dating?
It’d be indelicate for me to say! (Although the above kind of already gives it away.) But of course life informs fiction. That’s why we write.