Azmeena Ladha

Agent: Isobel Dixon

Biography: Azmeena Ladha is a native of Mombasa, Kenya, and now lives in England. She graduated as a graphic designer in Manchester and worked in publishing and for a trade union in London for many years before re-training to work with refugees and asylum seekers in south London.

Kenya forms an important social and physical backdrop for Azmeena's writing, which explores first and foremost human frailties and resilience. Her short stories have won awards and been included in NEW WRITING 13 (Picador, 2005), THE READER (University of Liverpool, 2005), and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. One was recently translated for the VRIJ NEDERLAND magazine in Holland.

‘RALLY is a story about growing up set in a very particular and strongly realised time and place, but universal in its themes and a pleasure to read. Azmeena Ladha is an observant, distinctive and compassionate writer, with a new voice’ — Hilary Mantel, Man Booker Prizewinning author of WOLF HALL

‘Writers like Fay Weldon, Emily Perkins, Vicky Grut, Helen Simpson and Azmeena Ladha write about relationships and families in variously attentive and surprising ways.’ — Independent on Sunday

‘Azmeena Ladha's TWENTY GODS is a marvellously wrought story with a delicacy of style and phrase that's very accomplished for a debutante.’ — Ashok Banker, Hindustan Times