Today I’m joined joined by Saima Begum, a British-Bangladeshi writer whose voice is courageous, lyrical, and intent on bringing untold histories out of the silence. Saima Begum lives in London, and though The First Jasmines is her debut novel, she has already made her mark - she won the MFest Short Story Competition in 2021. Her novel The First Jasmines (published 31 July 2025 with Hajar Press) is set during the final stages of the Bangladesh Liberation War, in 1971, and follows two sis...
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Today I’m joined joined by Saima Begum, a British-Bangladeshi writer whose voice is courageous, lyrical, and intent on bringing untold histories out of the silence. Saima Begum lives in London, and though The First Jasmines is her debut novel, she has already made her mark - she won the MFest Short Story Competition in 2021. Her novel The First Jasmines (published 31 July 2025 with Hajar Press) is set during the final stages of the Bangladesh Liberation War, in 1971, and follows two sis...
Ibtisam Azem on what would happen if Palestinians disappeared
The Diverse Bookshelf
1 hour 7 minutes
7 months ago
Ibtisam Azem on what would happen if Palestinians disappeared
This week, I’m speaking with the brilliant Ibtisam Azem—novelist, journalist, and storyteller—about her powerful and thought-provoking book, The Book of Disappearance. Set across 1948 Palestine, in Jaffa and also Tel Aviv, this novel asks a haunting question: what if all the Palestinians suddenly disappeared? Through the intertwining narratives of Alaa, a young Palestinian man who vanishes without a trace, and Ariel, an Israeli, liberal Zionist journalist who finds Alaa’s diaries, the novel...
The Diverse Bookshelf
Today I’m joined joined by Saima Begum, a British-Bangladeshi writer whose voice is courageous, lyrical, and intent on bringing untold histories out of the silence. Saima Begum lives in London, and though The First Jasmines is her debut novel, she has already made her mark - she won the MFest Short Story Competition in 2021. Her novel The First Jasmines (published 31 July 2025 with Hajar Press) is set during the final stages of the Bangladesh Liberation War, in 1971, and follows two sis...
