OurShelves with special guest Kamila Shamsie

OurShelves: Courage with Kamila Shamsie

Is writing a muscle?

Kamila Shamsie, prize winning novelist, fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Granta Best of Young British author, talks to Lucy Scholes about her great-aunt, Attia Hosain, whose books are newly reissued with her introductions on the Virago Modern Classics list, and how she once took her aside to say, ‘Never stop writing’. In their conversation, they traverse the psychological journey of refugees, remember how reading Woolf for the first time felt like coming up for air and ask how much courage it takes to write.

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On the nightstand – books that are currently on your bedside table

Sunlight on a Broken Column and Phoenix Fled by Attia Hosain

On your mind – a recent article, podcast, film, series or song

The Guardian Long Read: We tried to be joyful enough to deserve our new lives’: What it’s really like to be a refugee in Britain by Zarlasht Halaimzai

On the shelf – one book that made you think about feminism in a new way

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

On the pedestal – tell us about one person (woman or non-binary) you admire

Malala

Tune in next time for more conversation about books, feminism and culture.

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