Translators

Kamila Shamsie

Kamila Shamsie was born in 1973 in Pakistan. She is the author of five novels, the first of which, In the City by the Sea (1998), was shortlisted for the Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Her second novel, Salt and Saffron (2000) resulted in her being included on Orange's list of '21 Writers for the 21st Century'. Kartography (2002) was shortlisted for the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize. Both Kartography and her fourth novel, Broken Verses (2005), won the Patras Bukhari Award from the Academy of Letters in Pakistan. Her fifth novel Burnt Shadows (2009) was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Kamila also writes for The Guardian, The New Statesman, Index on Censorship and Prospect magazine, and she broadcasts frequently on radio.  She lives in London and Karachi.

Kamila kindly read Noshi Gillani's poems in Urdu for us at the Lancaster Literature Festival as part of our World Poets' Tour 2008 when Noshi was unable to travel to the UK. She has also made beautiful recordings of Noshi's poems which are listed on the right.