FORMER Telegraph & Argus journalist Saima Mir is the first recipient of the CRIMEFEST bursary for a crime fiction author of colour.

Saima’s debut novel The Khan was published in 2021, and is due in paperback in March. It was a Times and Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year in 2021, and is longlisted for The Portico Prize.

FORMER Telegraph & Argus journalist Saima Mir is the first recipient of the CRIMEFEST bursary for a crime fiction author of colour. 
Saima’s debut novel The Khan was published in 2021, and is due in paperback in March. It was a Times and Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Year in 2021, and has been longlisted for The Portico Prize. 
Saima said: “As a young girl growing up in inner city Bradford, I dreamt of being a writer, but didn’t see the names of women like me on the covers of books. This bursary will allow me to be inspired by the company of seasoned storytellers, fulfil my childhood ambition, and to act as a beacon to other women who dare to dream of being published novelists, but fear the space is not for girls like them.”
She added: “I write about being British Asian, being Muslim, and being female, but all of this is incidental to the story. I hope that my readers come to understand that despite our surface differences, more unites us than divides us.”
The bursary will include a panel appearance at CRIMEFEST - of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe - in May.
Co-host Donna Moore said: "We had incredibly strong entries, and we're thrilled to welcome Saima to CRIMEFEST and give her the opportunity to introduce her compelling debut novel, with its fabulous protagonist, to an audience of new readers.”
Visit crimefest.com