Sairish Hussain is a British novelist and lecturer in creative writing. Her debut novel ''The Family Tree'' (2020) was shortlisted for a Costa Book Award and the Portico Prize. This was followed by ''Hidden Fires'' (2024). In her writing, she is known for her portrayals of British-Pakistani families.
Early life and education
Hussain is from
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
and attended Rhodesway Secondary School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the
University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...
. As she received a first, she earned a scholarship to continue her studies at Huddersfield onto a Master of Arts (MA) and PhD. She has since lectured at the university as a research fellow in creative writing.
Career
Hussain first came up with the idea for her debut novel about a
British-Pakistani
British Pakistanis (; also known as Pakistani British people or Pakistani Britons) are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakist ...
Muslim family, centred around a recently widowed single father Amjad and his two children Saahil and Zahra, during her final undergraduate year in 2014, began writing it during her MA, and completed it while pursuing her PhD. Shortly after at a 2017
Bradford Literature Festival
The Bradford Literature Festival (sometimes abbreviated to BLF) is a spoken and written word event that promotes literature and is held for ten days annually over June and July in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The first event was held in 201 ...
, she met Lisa Milton of
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
, who expressed interest in the novel, through which Hussain secured her first book deal with the imprint HQ. Her motivation with the novel, titled ''The Family Tree'' and published in 2020, was to challenge stereotypes and portray a realistic family. For example, ''The Family Tree'' depicts a positive father–daughter relationship, which Hussain found rare in media.
''The Family Tree'' was shortlisted for the Portico Prize, given to novels that "evoke the spirit of the North", and the Costa Book Award for First Novel. The novel was also longlisted for ''
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 ...
s
Not the Booker Prize
The Not the Booker Prize is an annual literary award presented by ''The Guardian''. To be eligible for the Prize, books must meet all criteria for the Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the ...
, shortlisted at the Diverse Book (DB) Awards in the Adult category, and named a Hidden Gem by Calibre Audio.
For the
National Centre for Writing
The National Centre for Writing, formerly Writers' Centre Norwich, is a literature development agency and national centre for writing based in Norwich, England. It led the successful bid for Norwich to be granted the UNESCO City of Literature tit ...
in June 2021,
Kei Miller
Kei Miller (born 24 October 1978) is a Jamaican poet, fiction writer, essayist and blogger. He is also a professor of creative writing.Women's Prize x ''
Good Housekeeping
''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...
'' Futures Award.
As confirmed in September 2023, Hussain reunited with the HarperCollins imprint HQ for the publication of her second novel ''Hidden Fires'' in January 2024. The novel, about a British-Pakistani teenager Rubi who goes to stay with her grandfather Yusuf, is set in 2017 amid the backdrop of the
Grenfell Tower fire
On 14 June 2017, a List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...
and the 70th anniversary of the
Partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
. When conducting research on the Partition, Hussain found the elderly men in the documentaries she watched reminded her of her own grandfather. In both her novels, Hussain "humanises" the British-Pakistani community through counter-narratives.
Personal life
Hussain lives in
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
. She has also worked as a healthcare assistant on the sonography team of a local maternity unit.
Bibliography
* ''The Family Tree'' (2020)
* ''Hidden Fires'' (2024)