EXCHANGING WORDS WITH AYAZ RASOOL NAZKI

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Multilingual poet, scholar, translator, researcher, columnist, Ayaz Rasool Nazki is a man of all seasons with diverse interests in painting, photography, calligraphy, cultural history and manuscript studies, Ayaz has been able to carve his own distinctive niche in the literary world, voicing a sensibility that is at once postmodern and traditional, without belonging exclusively to one or the other.His dominant passion has been creatively engaging with the questions of identity, memory and aspirations in South Asia’s most sensitive and turbulent zone – Kashmir.

A member of an outstanding family of writers, poets and scholars, Ayaz outgrew the teaching of sciences and never looked back. A recognized poet in Urdu and Kashmiri with many publications, he broke into English with a very impressive translation of his outstanding father Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki’s Sufi quatrains. His own collection of English poems ‘songs of light’ was recently published to critical acclaim. 

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

Kashmir and the uncertainty it has been in for a long time inspired me to evaluate my own cultural and civilizational persona through the medium of history and try to make some sense of present and future.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

Finding a good publisher was made easy for me by THE BOOK BAKERS. Once I found The Book Bakers rest was easy as they took over.

3.  How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK BAKERS?

I contacted a few publishers through email, one of them suggested that I should come through an agent. They forwarded a list of literary agents, The Book Bakers was one of them.

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?

To the first email I dropped to The Book Bakers, I got a prompt and encouraging response, then things moved and finally, everything turned out well. The Book Bakers are a highly dedicated, and professionals with a heart team and I wish them continued success.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

Well, every author wants to be successful and for me, the measure of success perhaps is how many people read you and like your work.

6. When can we expect your next book?

I am halfway through the next manuscript, maybe a few months more!

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Please do not give up, there is always someone, somewhere who likes the kind of writing only you are able to do. Keep faith and find a good literary agent like The Book Bakers.

BOOK NAME: Satisar the valley of Demons

PUBLISHER: Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd

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EXCHANGING WORDS WITH SANA MUNIR

AUTHOR’S BIO:

Sana Munir has a Master’s degree in Mass Communication Theory and Research from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. She has taught International Communication and Feminist Film Theory at her alma mater, Lahore College for Women University. She has also freelanced for various prominent magazines in Pakistan. To Sana, feminism is not a mere school of thought or ideology but a way of living, rooted in essential moral principles of equality, humanity, acceptance, and justice. Sana is based in Lahore, Pakistan.

She blogs at sanamunirblog.wordpress.com

1. Who and what inspired you to write?

My father was a reader, writer and teacher of Classical Poetry and Drama all his life. So I was lucky to have grown up in an environment where Shakespeare, Byron and Yeats were quoted frequently. My childhood house(s) always featured book racks filled with novels, plays, poetry and prose. I suppose, reading is the first step towards writing, and that is where I, like all other writers, drew inspiration from.

2. What challenges did you face while writing and getting published?

The only challenge a writer faces these days, is the humongous amount of distraction – the continuous beeps of the smartphones, the pull of the laptop et al. Else, writing brings me calm, peace of mind and catharsis. Getting published is an altogether different story since Literary Agencies and Publication houses are quite in their pre-natal stage.

3. How did you come to know about the literary agency THE BOOK  BAKERS?

I am lucky to have come across a random blog, listing the top ten literary agencies in India and there, among the plethora of information, was my destined agency, The Book Bakers to whom I shall always be indebted. Suhail Mathur, has been more than an agent, he was a personal editor who helped me work the manuscript in such a way that it became acceptable to the topmost Indian publication houses in India.   

4. How did THE BOOK BAKERS help you and what would you like to say about them?

The Book Bakers rock! They have a personal relationship with every client and their sincerity puts the writers at ease. The confusion, the uncertainty and the nervousness all seem to blur out when the involvement of the agency is understood completely. Their catalogue boasts of new writers, kid authors as well as seasoned famous celebrity writers. The broad spectrum of their clientele speaks louder for their worthy credentials than words can.

5. How do you see literary success for yourself?

A writer’s success can only be measured by how well the book does at sales for a good book, marketed properly, shall be bought by a bookworm as well as a collector and also by that reader who reads one book in, say, a year. The genre does not matter. I hope Unfettered Wings, reaches out to the Indian and Pakistani readers, irrespective of their genders.

6. When can we expect your next book?

Well, I have already submitted the next manuscript to the Book Bakers! So, very soon, I hope.

7. Any message or tips for aspiring authors?

Read. Write. Under any circumstance, do not quit.

BOOK NAME: UNFETTERED WINGS: Extraordinary stories of ordinary women

PUBLISHER: Rupa Books

BOOK SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

From the barren dust bowl of Nushki, a small town in Balochistan, to the posh white marble bungalows and magnificent mansions of Lahore, this book captures vignettes of the lives of Pakistani women who brave battles, big or small, every day. These women compare with their Indian counterparts as much as they contrast. Whether it is little Farida, through whose innocent eyes we see the drawing of political borders and the destruction of many families or Meera, whose attempt at reaching out across these very borders is met with ridicule by her own countrymen, Summi, who shares the painful burden of her husband’s past, or the wanton Maria for whom love and relationships matter naught these are real-life characters grappling with issues that are as timeless as they are contemporary.

Unfettered Wings is about strength and fortitude, of relationships in ordinary settings that unfold into extraordinary situations.

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