Update from Kia
Last year, I was at a housewarming party when I got into a heated debate with an old friend from uni. He had just learned that I never let my savings dip below five figures. He told me that I was better off using that money to enjoy my life.
I explained that, firstly, I do enjoy my life and, secondly, when you come from very little money, the spectre of poverty never really goes away and that my savings were my way of ensuring future stability.
“That’s just your trauma talking,” he said.
Ouch, I thought, but fair. He had known me since I was 18 and saw me through my 20s including the worst year of my life (an arranged marriage and divorce which cost me £20,000, estrangement, bereavement and one or two things I’ve never written about).
“Okay, yes,” I told him. “Maybe it’s my trauma talking, but guess what? Trauma happens.”
I’ve been thinking about that conversation as the cost of living crisis squeezes. This month, I poured those precious savings into my mortgage (and I recognise that I’m privileged to have one), leaving them near depleted for the first time since my twenties. Doing this has mitigated the interest rate increases, but still leaves me hundreds of pounds worse off each month, quite literally.
I’ve alluded to this in public but only in the droll, oblique way that writers tend to do. It’s not that I can’t pay my bills – I’m way too paranoid to let that happen – but I am having to think about money again. I say this here because not enough writers and artists talk about money. Some have told me that admitting to financial worries would tarnish their success, which I completely understand. One of the biggest misconceptions about publishing is that authors must be rolling in it. Many of us don’t mind this. After all, who doesn’t want to look rich and successful? The damage is, of course, that people don’t realise how much authors need their support. Authors need to sell books to pay their bills because most of us are categorically not rolling in it.
With that in mind, please continue to buy books if you can, borrow them if you can’t (authors get paid for library loans), and shout about the books you love.
Until next time.
Kia
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New books by British-Asian authors
6 July 2023
The Centre
Welcome to The Centre. You'll never be the same. Anisa Ellahi spends her days writing subtitles for Bollywood films in her London flat, all the while longing to be a translator of ‘great works of literature’. Her boyfriend Adam’s extraordinary aptitude for languages only makes her feel worse, but when Adam learns to speak Urdu practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. […]
6 July 2023
I Wish We Weren’t Related
Reeva Mehta is thriving. Consumed in her career as one of London's top divorce lawyers, she doesn't bat an eyelid when her mum calls to tell her that her dad is dead. Because he's been dead since she was five, hasn't he? If finding out her dad was alive – until last week – wasn't bad enough, his last request was for his daughters to spend fourteen days in mourning at his house […]
6 July 2023
The Destiny of Minou Moonshine
The story of a Queendom set in an alternate colonial India, blending Frances Hardinge with Kipling's Kim. A debut rich in fantasy, friendship and faith, and an original adventure that sparkles with storytelling magic. Fierce orphan girl Minou Moonshine lives with her grandmother on a makeshift barge in the shadow of the General's palace. Under the tyrant's rule, life in Moonlally is hard: the monsoons have failed and worship of their goddess, the Dark Lady, is forbidden […]
20 July 2023
These Impossible Things
‘They recognised that they were all existing in a perfect moment, and eventually it would have to end. Other times it felt like it would always be this way.’ These Impossible Things charts the dreams and disappointments of a group of British Muslim women: Jenna, Kees and Malak. They have been friends for years, the three of them together against the world. Yet one night changes everything between them […]
Books out last month
1 June 2023
Dadaji's Paintbrush
Discover that bereavement can be a beginning, not an ending, in this beautiful story of one boy's grief when he loses his beloved grandfather. Dadaji loves to teach others to paint, especially his grandson. But after Dadaji passes away, the boy can’t bear to use the favourite paintbrush his grandfather left for him. When a little girl knocks on the door, the boy discovers how many lives Dadaji touched […]
8 June 2023
Stolen History: The truth about the British Empire and how it shaped us
An accessible, engaging and essential introduction to the British empire for readers aged 9+, by bestselling author of Empireland, Sathnam Sanghera. You've probably heard the word 'empire' before. Perhaps because of the Roman empire. Or maybe even the Star Wars films. But what about the British Empire? Why don't we learn much about this? And what even is an empire, anyway? This book will answer all the important questions about Britain’s imperial history […]
8 June 2023
Know Your Place
At four years old, Dr Faiza Shaheen was told by her mum that one day she would attend the University of Oxford. As the daughter of a car mechanic attending state schools, the odds were low, but she worked hard and succeeded. Today, she’s a leading statistician and standing for election as a Member of Parliament. Why do we glorify success as personal triumph like this? These narratives purposely erase the role of public service […]
8 June 2023
The Race to the Top: Structural Racism and How to Fight It
Have you ever wondered why, as Britain becomes more diverse, so many of our leaders come from the same narrow pool? Can it be acceptable in 2023 that there are no ethnic minority chief constables, only one CEO in the top 50 NHS Trusts and no permanent secretaries in the civil service? Nazir Afzal knows what it’s like to break the glass ceiling, challenge prejudice and shake up predominantly white institutions […]
8 June 2023
Know Your Own Power: Inspiration, Motivation and Practical Tools For Life
Life can be relentless, challenging and full of curveballs thrown at us at the worst times, but through these times life will open its hands and offer us the gift of finding out just how powerful we are. Dr Radha, a practising GP and media doctor, provides an inspiring toolbox of reflections and advice to help us reframe the bad stuff and difficulties we face […]
15 June 2023
Brown Girl Like Me: The Essential Guidebook and Manifesto for South Asian Girls and Women
Brown Girl Like Me is an inspiring memoir and empowering manifesto that equips women with the confidence and tools they need to navigate the difficulties that come with an intersectional identity. Jaspreet Kaur unpacks key issues such as the media, the workplace, the home, education, mental health, culture, confidence and the body, to help South Asian women understand and tackle the issues that affect them, and help them be in the driving seat of their own lives […]
22 June 2023
Out of Sri Lanka: Tamil, Sinhala and English poetry from Sri Lanka and its diasporas
Sri Lanka has thrilled the foreign imagination as a land of infinite possibility. Portuguese, Dutch and British colonisers envisioned an island of gems and pearls, a stopping-point on the Silk Road; tourists today are sold a vision of golden beaches and swaying palm trees, delicious food and smiling locals. This favours the south of the island over the north rebuilt piecemeal after the end of the civil war in 2009 […]
Editor’s choice
The book I’m most excited about…
I’m not going to lie, The Centre sounds a little “avant-garde”, which isn’t always my first choice of fiction, but the kooky cover – and an endorsement from Gillian Flynn – has piqued my interest.
Described as a darkly comic, boundary-pushing debut, The Centre follows Anisa Ellahi, a gifted but failing translator in London. Anisa spends her days writing subtitles for Bollywood films, but longs to be a translator of “great works of literature”.
Her boyfriend Adam’s extraordinary aptitude for languages only makes her feel worse, but when Adam learns to speak Urdu practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. Adam tells her about the Centre, an elite invite-only programme that guarantees total fluency in any language in just 10 days.
With overtones of sci-fi and mystery, The Centre promises an insight into cultural appropriation, privilege and the power of language.
Order it now from Amazon or Waterstones or your local independent bookshop.