Publishing and Prizing Muslims Workshop

Trust is central to the relationships of literature: between author and editor, author and publisher, and author and reader, to name only three. The complex negotiations of trust when considering authors and texts of ‘Muslim’ provenance or authorship throw up certain additional questions in our age of intercultural trust and suspicion.

This workshop considers the negotiations around the production, design, publication and dissemination of works by authors of Muslim heritage.  It offers an opportunity to explore book history in general, and experiences of the publishing industry, prize culture, and literature festivals for such authors in particular. A panel of international experts in the field will explore the paratexts (such as dustjacket  designs, blurbs and other written endorsements, author photographs, and the ways in which writers are ‘staged’ by literary prizes and festivals) that surround texts by culturally Muslim authors.

We will concentrate in particular on four main areas: prizes; festivals; literary celebrities seen as spokespeople on ‘Muslim’ issues (Salman  Rushdie, Monica Ali, et al.); and the publishing world. We hope that you will join us in our papers, conversations and Q&As.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

• James F. English (The Economy of  Prestige)
• Claire Squires (Marketing Literature)
• Rukhsana Ahmad (We Sinful Women, The Hope Chest)
• Rukhsana Yasmin (Commissioning Editor, The Westbourne Press)
• Syima Aslam (Co-founder, Bradford Literature Festival)
• Irfan Akram (Former CEO, Muslim Writers Awards)
• Claire Chambers (British Muslim Fictions)

This is a Muslims, Trust and Cultural Dialogue event.