Over the last two decades, Pakistani Literature in English has been gaining popularity and international recognition. In this webinar, four Pakistani writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry discuss the challenges of being a writer of and about Pakistan. How does a writer write freely without having to worry about always looking at oneself through the eyes of the other? What is the impact of western stereotypes and misrepresentation on their work? This panel discussion will focus on both craft and the challenges of being a literary artist.

SPEAKERS

Mushtaq Bilal is a Fulbright doctoral fellow in the Department of Comparative Literature at Binghamton University and the author of the book Writing Pakistan: Conversations on Identity, Nationhood and Fiction. His work has appeared in academic journals including the Journal of World Literature and in popular publications like the Washington Post, the LA Times, and Dawn, Pakistan’s largest English daily. Currently, he teaches Pakistani literature in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University.

Farah Habib is Associate Professor of English at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts. She teaches writing and multicultural literature. She writes creative nonfiction essays about the experience of being a Pakistani-American. Prior to her teaching career, she was a full-time journalist with a USA Today affiliate in New York where she wrote about the Pakistani and Muslim community and was recognized for her coverage of migrant workers.

Soniah Kamal​ ​is an award winning novelist, essayist and public speaker. She gave a TEDx talk on redefining dreams and is a frequent speaker on immigration, post-colonialism, writing, Jane Austen and real American Dreams. Her work has appeared in critically acclaimed anthologies and publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Catapult, The Georgia Review, The Bitter Southerner, and more. Soniah’s novel,​ Unmarriageable: Pride & Prejudice in Pakistan is ​a 2019 Financial Times Readers’ Best Book Pick, a People’s Magazine Pick, an NPR Code Switch Reads Pick, a 2020 Georgia Author of the Year for Literary Fiction nominee, and more. She teaches at the MFA program at Reinhardt University.

Sehba Sarwar creates text and art that tackle displacement, migration, and women’s issues. The second edition of her novel, Black Wings, was released in 2019 (Veliz Books). Her essays and poems have appeared in publications including New York Times Sunday Magazine, Creative Time Reports, Asia: Magazine of Asian Literature, Callaloo, and elsewhere while her short stories are anthologized by Feminist Press, Akashic Books, and Harper Collins India.