Mirza Waheed is a British novelist and writer. Born and raised in

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

, Mirza is known for writing that mainly revolves around the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

and

insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric nature: small irregular forces ...

. Mirza is based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Writing career

Mirza has written for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', ''

Guernica Guernica (, ), officially Gernika () in Basque, is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the municipality of Gernika-Lumo ...

'',

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. His first novel, '' The Collaborator'', was published in 2011 and was a finalist for the Guardian First Book award. It takes place in his homeland of Kashmir, torn in conflict between India and Pakistan. Novelist

Kamila Shamsie Kamila Shamsie (; born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel '' Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has been d ...

reviewed it for ''The Guardian'' and called it "gripping in its narrative drama...Mirza gives us a portrait of Kashmir itself. Away from the rhetorical posturing of India and Pakistan, he reveals, with great sensitivity and an anger that arises from compassion, what it is to live in a part of the world that is regarded by the national government as the enemy within, and by the government next door as a strategic puppet." Mirza's second novel, '' The Book of Gold Leaves'', was published in 2014. A love story between a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

and a

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

in troubled 1990s Kashmir, it was reviewed by

Alice Albinia Alice Albinia (born 1976) is an English journalist and author whose first book, '' Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River'' (2008), won several awards. Albinia was born in London and read English Literature at Cambridge University and Sou ...

in the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'': "A haunting illustration of how, at the end of last century, normal life became impossible for many of those who call Kashmir home." His third novel, '' Tell Her Everything'', was released in January 2019. It is the story of a father who is preparing to reveal his own unsavory past to the now-grown daughter that he sent away to boarding school as a small child.

Personal life

Mirza and his wife have a son and a daughter and he has said that he limits his book-promotion travels in order to stay home in London and care for them. He worked for the BBC for ten years, but quit in 2011 to devote himself full-time to writing and raising his children. He plays

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for the Authors XI team, which is composed of British writers.

Awards and honours

*2011 "Books of the Year" for ''The Collaborator'' in ''The Telegraph'', ''New Statesman'', ''Business Standard'' and ''Telegraph India''. *2011

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspa ...

finalist for ''The Collaborator'' *2011 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize finalist for ''The Collaborator'' *2012

Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...

longlist for ''The Collaborator'' *2016

DSC Prize for South Asian Literature The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South AsiaNote: South Asia for the purposes of the prize is defined as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka ...

shortlist for ''The Book of Gold Leaves'' *2019

The Hindu Literary Prize ''The Hindu'' Literary Prize or ''The Hindu'' Best Fiction Award, established in 2010, is an Indian literary award sponsored by ''The Hindu Literary Review'' which is part of the newspaper ''The Hindu''. It recognizes Indian works in English and ...

for ''Tell Her Everything''

Books

* ''The Collaborator'' (2012), * ''The Book of Gold Leaves'' (2014), * '' Tell Her Everything'' (2019),

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waheed, Mirza Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian Muslims Kashmiri Muslims Writers from Srinagar British journalists Journalists from Jammu and Kashmir 21st-century Indian novelists 21st-century British novelists British people of Indian descent British people of Kashmiri descent British Muslims Delhi University alumni Kashmiri writers Novelists from Jammu and Kashmir