Muslim Writer's Awards

What a night! I spent the last few hours in the company of some of the richest, diverse and talented writers I’ve seen in quite a while. The first thing that struck me, I was listed for a VIP table. I don’t know if it was a mistake but I wasn't about to complain. I guess wearing a sparkly gown, headscarf and matching handbag and not forgetting my gorgeous silver heels, I did fit into the evening nicely! Everyone kept asking me what award I was up for? I was a little tempted to make something up but the sheer thought of being caught out stopped me. After all, I was given the best seats in the house. I had to be on my best behaviour because my kids were watching!
The night began with powerful poetry from Dreadlock-Alien, an electrifying performance from Warsan Shire and hypnotic rhymes from Amir Sulaiman. I have to confess, Warsan Shire haunted me all evening. She is a talent to watch out for! Not just a Somali poet, but a writer, freelance journalist and spoken word artist. She won 2007 international slam champion.
There were some great guest speakers lined up too. The Rt Hon Stephen Timms a pleasant man with a positive message. He spoke for people to see Muslims writer’s as talented individuals and not just members of the Islamic faith. Another favourite speaker of the night was Sadiq Khan, Minister for Communities. He talked about his invlovement in projects to help Ethnic Minorities in Britain.
Personally, I felt let down by the presentation of the awards. The presenters Shelina Zahra Janmohamed and Hasan Mahamdallie were fabulous in keeping us the audience entertained. But, once the winners were announced, they collected their awards and were quickly whisked off stage. I was hoping to hear some of their readings but I was told there wasn’t enough time. The MWA (Muslim Writer’s Award) were running on a tight schedule of two hours. Behind me, lights were blasting from huge cameras and I knew it was being televised live to many countries around the world.
Afterwards, I was able to speak to some of the winners and get their opinions of the night. My first contact was with Hanzla Arif Macdonald, winner of the short story competition for the 14-16 age groups. He was excited to attend the awards with his parents and younger brother. To my surprise he had won an award last year at the MWA. He was described by one judge “he will come to be a name to remember”. Another judge referred to Hanzla's work, “His work won in the end because of its sophistication and originality” So, I’m not surprised he’s already made a mark in the writing industry.
Other humble winners were Shameam Akhtar for unpublished poetry and Reba Khatun for unpublished –children’s story. Both ladies were a little shy to talk about their success but very glad to have submitted to this year’s MWA.
Well, I guess it goes to show you if you don’t write you won’t know. If you have a passion to write and with local elections round the corner, it's no time like the present to have your say!

London

I’ve arrived in London for the Muslim writer’s event on Wednesday. From now and till Wednesday I will have to shop for the event. It’s half-term and with my kids in tow, it’s going to be nightmare to get anything done. How do you shop in such a short space of time? With Allah’s help, I will have to get my act together!

Keeping up with the blog

In case you’re wondering what’s happening to my blog. Sorry! I’m terrible at IT! lol! It takes me while to understand a command or icon but I do get there eventually! lol! Well, I’ve been working on my film treatment, book and keeping on top of my kids. I can’t do everything! I‘ve made a mental note and stuck poststicks everywhere to remind myself to do the blog! Hopefully, the next blog will be up to date. Just bear with me!

BBC writer's script session

I went along to the BBC writer’s room session held at DMU. The guy who was giving the seminar broke the script writing process down to the same formula as writing a novel. Of course, he didn’t put it like that but that was my understanding of it. He explained the importance of strengthening character roles through dialogue and action. A script is different to a novel in terms of the lack of physical description of people and places in the story. A script tells the plot but you leave the actual role of characters for actors to play out. A big pet hate for producers is when writers dictate camera angle shots in a script.
I was relieved to know my film treatment is on the right track. Hopefully, I will show it to producer soon. The film project is a new world to me. I enjoy writing and I’m always looking for the next challenge. I was annoyed the BBC people didn’t accept my film treatment, but, when I looked up their website, I knew it was part of their terms and conditions. It hasn’t put me off and I’ll see what the next few weeks will bring.

Swine Flu

My daughter came home upset today because her friend at another school had to go home because a student had swine flu. It's scary stuff. She was extremely scared of catching it herself. She was asking lots of questions like, will she get it? Can she die from it? I did my best to reassure her but it's tough situation for a parent to be in. How can you explain a condition/illness when you're not sure of it yourself? Thank God! she's bounced back and not thinking about it for now.

Working on the Film Treatment

Today I worked on my film treatment even though it was a Bank Holiday. I was advised by a fellow scriptwriter to shorten my treatment to two pages. I will try but I'm not sure if it is possible to reduce such amount without losing essential plot details.

A piece for the Leicester Mercury

I’m about to write a piece on spending less in the holidays. It will be sent to Jim Matthews at the Leicester Mercury. I think it’s good to give my experience of what it's like being a parent and coping with children in a recession. I want people to know being Muslim doesn’t mean you are different. Muslims are ordinary people living ordinary lives. Hopefully, my letter will help people to understand Muslims feel the credit crunch too! lol!

Posted by Rukhsana at 15:44 0 comments