Nadeem Aslam spoke to Commonwealth Writers at the 2013 Hay Festival Dhaka about why he writes fiction, what insights the novel can give the reader, and the different viewpoints the form can capture. We felt that so much of what Nadeem said about the novel applies to the short story as well, and so we wanted to share it with you.
Nadeem is the author of three highly acclaimed novels: Season of the Rainbirds (1999), which won a Betty Trask Award; Maps for Lost Lovers (2005), which was a New York Times Notable Book, winner of the Kiriyama Prize, shortlisted for the IMPAC prize, and longlisted for the Booker Prize; and, most recently, The Wasted Vigil (2008). He is also the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship. His latest novel, The Blind Man’s Garden, was published in 2013. Born in Pakistan, he lives in England.
