The LOCAL publishing company, Fox & Windmill has announced its shortlist for its first anthology which will be published this year.

A competition was launched last year and ended on New Year’s Eve, inviting British South Asian writers from across the UK to come forward and submit their short stories and poems.

The judges involved with the selection process included Kevin Duffy of award-winning indie publisher Bluemoose Books, Dr Sofia Rehman, writer, academic and founder of the Leeds Lit Bookclub, and award-winning poet Zaffar Kunial, who judged the poems.

Kevin Duffy and Dr Sofia Rehman selected the following short stories to be published: The Shape of a Girl by Dipika Mummery, The Guesthouse by Majida Begum, The Trousseau by Samina H Bakhsh, Just The Three of Us by Sangeeta Mulay, A White Boy Is Looking At You by Sarah M Jasat, In The Eyes by Swapna Sanchita, On The Blob by Ulka Karandikar, Across This New Divide by Sara Summun Khan 

Zaffar Kunia selected these poems:  Hijab Diaries: A New Light by Bushra Shaikh, Dadi Maa and I Enter the Buffy verse by Karishma Sangtani, Wheat Stalks on the Wall by Mohammed Barber, Demons by Shana Jasani, Morning Walk around Boudha Stupa by Sujana Crawford, Synonyms for Paradise by Zara Sehar.

One of the co-founders of Fox & Windmill, Sara Razzaq said: “We are so excited and pleased to be releasing the shortlist of authors for the anthology.

“It really means a lot, the support we have had from people in the industry and the people we have met on this journey.

“We haven’t even been a business for a whole year yet and we have achieved some amazing things already.

“Thank you to everyone who entered the competition; reading the entries has been our favourite bit so far, but we’re excited for the next stage of editing and working with the authors to hone their talents and then getting it ready for print.”

Judge Kevin Duffy said: "It is wonderful to see two young brilliant publishers from Bradford, Sara and Habiba giving British South Asian writers an opportunity to see their work in print. The shortlist brims with great new stories from some very talented writers.” 

 

Sara and Habiba, said: “Congratulations to all those making our shortlist. We are so honoured and proud to be able to publish your work at Fox & Windmill.”