Mohammed Hanif (born November 1964) is a

British Pakistani British Pakistanis ( ur, (Bratānia men maqīm pākstānī); also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), of ...

writer and journalist who writes a monthly

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

.'' Hanif is the author of the critically acclaimed book ''

A Case of Exploding Mangoes ''A Case of Exploding Mangoes'' (2008) is a comic novel by the Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif based on the 1988 plane crash that killed General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, former president of Pakistan. The book received generally positive reviews fr ...

'', which was longlisted for the

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

, shortlisted for the

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 newspap ...

, and won the

Commonwealth Prize for Best Book Commonwealth Writers (established in 2011) is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation. It aims to inspire, develop and connect writers across the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth. Its flagship is a literary award for short sto ...

. His second book, '' Our Lady of Alice Bhatti'', won the

Wellcome Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust. In keeping with the vision and goals of Wellcome Trust, the Book Prize "celebrates the topics of health and medicine in literature", inc ...

. He also worked as a correspondent for the

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

based in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

and was the writer of the an acclaimed feature film about the city, ''The Long Night.'' His work has been published by ''

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. His play ''The Dictator's Wife'' has been staged at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director sin ...

Life

He was born in Okara,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He graduated from

Pakistan Air Force Academy The Pakistan Air Force Academy Asghar Khan ( ur, ) is an accredited three-year military academy which provides undergraduate education to officer candidates for the Pakistan Air Force. The eligible and selected candidates from all over Pakista ...

as a pilot officer, but subsequently left to pursue a career in journalism. He initially worked for Newsline and wrote for ''

'' and ''

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...

''. He is a graduate of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. In 1996, he moved to London to work for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. Later, he became the head of the BBC's Urdu service in London. He moved back to Pakistan in 2008.

Works

His first novel ''

'' (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008

and longlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. It won the 2009

Commonwealth Book Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Bes ...

in the Best First Book category and the 2008 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. Hanif has also written for the stage and screen, including a feature film, ''The Long Night'' (2002), a BBC radio play, ''What Now, Now That We Are Dead?'', and the stage play ''The Dictator's Wife'' (2008). His second novel, ''Our Lady of Alice Bhatti'', was published in 2011. It was shortlisted for the

Wellcome Trust Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established i ...

(2012), and the

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 Lan ...

(2013). He is currently collaborating with composer

Mohammed Fairouz Mohammed Fairouz (born November 1, 1985) is an American composer. He is one of the most frequently performed composers of his generation and has been described by Daniel J. Wakin of ''The New York Times'' as an "important new artistic voice". Fa ...

on an opera titled ''Bhutto''. In 2018, he wrote a fictional novel called Red Birds. Hanif's style has often been compared with that of author

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and W ...

, although Hanif himself disagrees with this assessment. Even though he says that he enjoys reading Rushdie's books, he would not want to suffer the same fate as Rushdie did.
rediffnews Retrieved 26 July 2012.

Bibliography

Films

* ''The Long Night'' (Script) (2002)

Novels

* ''

'' (2008) * '' Our Lady of Alice Bhatti'' (2011) * ''The Baloch who is not missing and others who are'' (2013) * ''Red Birds'' (2018)

Plays

* ''What Now, Now That We Are Dead?'' (radio play) * ''The Dictator's Wife'' (2008)

References

External links

Man Booker Prize Interview
*
Ten Myths About Pakistan- Times of IndiaAudio slideshow interview with Mohammed Hanif
talking about ''A Case of Exploding Mangoes'' on The Interview Online
Audio: Mohammed Hanif in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion programme
'' The Forum''
"Mohammed Hanif on being longlisted for the Man Booker"
manbookerprise.com

* ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/ Mohammad Hanif Articles on BBC Urdubr>Interview with Papercuts literary magazine on writing technique, elitism in Pakistani writing in English and hypocrisy in Pakistani society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanif, Mohammed Pakistani male journalists Living people 1964 births Pakistani dramatists and playwrights Alumni of the University of East Anglia People from Okara District Pakistan Air Force Academy alumni Pakistan Air Force officers Pakistani expatriates in England English-language writers from Pakistan Pakistani male writers Male journalists Male dramatists and playwrights Pakistani novelists Male novelists Punjabi people 21st-century novelists 21st-century male writers Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz