Stay ConnectedWelcome to The Diverse Bookshelf. I’m Samia Aziz, celebrating the power of literature and the voices of authors and change makers from the global majority. Join me as we explore the stories that inspire, connect, and transform our world. Each week I interview an inspiring guest about a whole host of themes and issues while focusing on diverse literature.
Let’s uncover the stories that truly matter—together.
Copyright: © 2025 The Diverse Bookshelf
This week, I spoke to Mai Al-Nakib about her stunning novel, An Unlasting Home. It is an epic inter-generational saga that spans time and place, exploring the idea of home, belonging and identity. With themes of birds and water running throughout, the book explores what happens when we leave our homes, or are made to leave, and how sometimes places let us go themselves. We follow Sara, a university philosophy lecturer, as she finds herself accused of Blasphemy, which has just been introduced as a capital crime, punishable by death. As she navigates this impossibly difficult situation, she uncovers and explores the stories of the women who raised her and came before her, and how every moment too led to right now.
Mai Al-Nakib was born in Kuwait and spent the first six years of her life in London, Edinburgh, and St. Louis, Missouri. She holds a PhD in English literature from Brown University and is Associate Professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait University. Her academic research focuses on cultural politics in the Middle East, with a special emphasis on gender, cosmopolitanism, and postcolonial issues. Her short story collection, The Hidden Light of Objects, was published by Bloomsbury in 2014. It won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2014 First Book Award, the first collection of short stories to do so. Her debut novel is called An Unlasting Home, was published recently
I loved every second of speaking with Mai, and hope you do too. If you enjoyed the podcast, please follow the Diverse Bookshelf on your podcast platform of choice and connect with me on social media. I would really appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review, as it helps more people find the podcast.
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On this week's episode, I spoke to Mona Hajjar Halaby about her memoir, In My Mother's Footsteps. Mona's mother was a Palestinian refugee, who fled Palestine in 1948 at the time of the Nakba and the creation of the state of Israel. She lived in Egypt with her husband and two daughters until 1961, when the family became refugees once more, and moved to Switzerland. In her book, Mona shares her mother's experiences of growing up in Palestine, being forced to leave her home, and her Palestinian identity. Mona spends a year working at a school in Ramallah, teaching children about communication and conflict resolution. During this time, she makes the journey to her mother's home village, uncovering deeper layers of her own identity.
In this episode, we talk about identity, belonging, returning home and the refugee crisis.
Mona Hajjar Halaby is a Palestinian-American educator, writer and social historian. In order to preserve Palestinian culture and heritage, she has created "British Mandate Jerusalemites Photo Library" on Facebook, and "The Palestine Ethnographic Society." She collaborated on an interactive documentary "Jerusalem We Are Here," which takes participants on a walking tour of a neighborhood in Jerusalem past and present, and presents a map that documents the houses in the neighborhood with their documents, photos, and stories. Hajjar-Halaby has written a parenting book, a book on her classroom practice and has a new book coming out in May entitled, "In My Mother’s Footsteps: A Palestinian Refugee Returns Home."
William Shakespeare is upheld as one of the greatest writers of all time. He is the most quoted person in the English-speaking language, coming only second after those who wrote down the Bible. But is Shakespeare still relevant today? Should we still be teaching Shakespeare in school, or do young people find themselves unable to relate to his work and characters? Is the anti-black racism, anti-semitism and misogyny present in Shakespeare's writing proof that he was holding up a mirror to society, or that he was simply putting forward his own views?
In this episode, I spoke with Farah Karim-Cooper, and we talked about all of these things and more. In her latest book, The Great White Bard: Shakespeare, Race and the Future, Farah gives us a detailed look into Shakespeare's work through the lens of race, encouraging us to think more deeply about the great playwright's work. She brings to light many aspects of his work that are often overlooked, and provides an insightful and thoughtful context that helps us get a deeper understanding.
We talk about the writers we place on a pedestal, diversifying curriculums, mixed-race couplings in Shakespeare's work, and how so many issues he forced us to confront his work, are still affecting our societies today.
Farah Karim-Cooper is Professor of Shakespeare Studies, King’s College London and Co -Director of Education & Research at Shakespeare’s Globe, where she has worked for the last 17 years. Farah is President of the Shakespeare Association of America after having served three years as Trustee. She leads the architectural enquiries into early modern theatres at Shakespeare’s Globe, overseeing the research into the design and construction of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, the Globe’s indoor Jacobean theatre.
She has published over 40 chapters in books, reviews and articles and is a General Editor for Arden’s Shakespeare in the Theatre series and their Critical Intersections Series. She has written three books.
Buy The Great White Bard here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9780861545346
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Today’s episodes is about one of my most favourite cities in the world – Sarajevo. Bosnian history is really fascinating, heartbreaking and complex, but gives us so much to learn from, reflect on and truly understand about the world and communities. In this episode, I’m talking to Priscilla Morris about her debut novel, Black Butterflies, which is set in 1992 in Sarajevo, at the beginning of the Siege of Sarajevo, which was initially believed to last just a few days, but continued for four years.
Born to a Yugoslav mother and English father, Priscilla wrote her debut novel Black Butterflies to understand the siege that devastated her mother’s hometown of Sarajevo from 1992-1996. It has been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. It was chosen as Indie Fiction Book of the Month in May 2022. It is currently being translated into Bosnian, Italian and Catalan.
She lectures in creative writing at University College Dublin and has taught at the University of East Anglia, Kingston University and City Lit. She haa an MA with Distinction and a PhD in Creative Writing from UEA. She read Italian, Spanish and Social Anthropology at Cambridge University. I’m so glad she’s my guest today.
Buy Black Butterflies here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5890/9780715654590
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Today’s guest is one the Gulf’s most noteworthy authors, Layla AlAmmar. Layla has published two internationally acclaimed novels The Pact We Made and Silence Is A Sense, in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
On this episode, we talk about SO much, and Layla shares such insight from a psychological perspective, discussing theories around trauma, memory and the versions of ourselves that we lose. We talk about who dictates how stories are told, why narratives around refugees are forcibly dehumanising, and what trauma does to the mind's ability to make memories.
Set in Kuwait, The Pact We Made revolves around the main character, Dalia, a young Kuwaiti who is pressured to get married by her traditional family as she approaches her 30th birthday, when all she craves is more independence and a life as an art student in the United States. It follows the struggle that emerges within Dalia from living a life that is significantly different from the one she desires, all while she harbors a long-kept secret. The second novel, Silence is a Sense, tells the story of an unnamed Syrian refugee who finds herself mute in her new community after an arduous trip from war-torn Syria to the UK. It follows her journey of making sense of her new surroundings and her place within them, as she writes about her experiences for a British news outlet under the alias, “The Voiceless.”
Layla AlAmmar is a writer and academic from Kuwait. She has a PhD in Arab women's fiction and literary trauma theory.and an MSc in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh. She was the 2018 British Council International Writer in Residence at the Small Wonder Short Story Festival. Her debut, THE PACT WE MADE, was longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. Her second novel, SILENCE IS A SENSE (2021) was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. She has written for The Guardian, LitHub, the Times Literary Supplement, ArabLit Quarterly, and The New Arab.
You can find Layla on social media here:
www.instagram.com/layla_alammar
If you enjoyed the podcast, please follow the Diverse Bookshelf on your podcast platform of choice. I would really appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review, as it helps more people find the podcast.
Please do connect with me on social media. I'd love to hear from you:
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I am so excited about this week's episode. I spoke with the incredible Fatima Manji, award-winning broadcaster and journalist, about her book, Hidden Heritage.
Hidden Heritage is a myth-busting journey through Britain’s history through heritage sites and British historical sources, rediscovering Britain’s relationship with the Orient. I absolutely loved this book, and found it fascinating and intriguing. Fatima shares stories and introduces us to artefacts and sources that point to a more nuanced and multi-layered relationship between Britain and West and South Asia and North Africa. While sharing some really fascinating stories, she also sheds light on a darker side of history, encouraging us to reconsider some popular narratives of history, and the way we approach society and issues today.
Fatima Manji is an award-winning broadcaster and journalist who anchors the UK’s Channel 4 News, the nation’s most popular adversarial nightly news programme. She reports on major national and international stories, and is best known for breaking stories with a global impact: including the tale of Saudi princesses held hostage for years by their father the King; giving voice to the heart-rending testimonies of internally displaced Iraqis fleeing ISIS; investigating an MI5 spy accused of entrapment in Northern Ireland; and tracing the perilous journey of victims of war across the Hungarian border in the face of rising anti-migrant extremism.
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On this episode, I spoke to the lovely Cecile Pin about her debut novel, Wandering Souls. Wandering Souls is such a strong debut, and has been long-listed for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2023! In this episode, we talk about Cecile's own family, her drive for telling the story of Vietnamese refugees, and why it is so important we understand the challenges faced by refugees everywhere.
I loved speaking with Cecile, and definitely think she's an author to watch!
Cecile Pin grew up in Paris and New York City. She moved to London at eighteen to study Philosophy at University College London, followed by an MA at King’s College London. She previously worked in publishing. She writes for Bad Form Review and is a London Writers Awards 2021 winner.Wandering Souls is her first novel and is longlisted for the Women’s Prize for fiction. It is being published in eleven territories in 2023.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do consider rating and leaving a review on your podcast platform of choice, as it really helps more people find the podcast. Also, connect with me on social media - I'd love to hear from you!
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In this episode, I spoke to the highly talented and inspiring poet, Taher Adel. We talk about how and why poetry is such a great creative outlet and a way to explore one's identity and engage with the world. We also talked about his upcoming book, The Divine Names, which is a collection of short poems which each speak to each of Allah's 99 names.
This episode is part of a mini-series for the month of Ramadan. Millions of Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk for 30 days as part of a month of heightened spirituality and worship.
Taher Adel is a British-Bahraini poet and spoken word artist. He has an MA in Creative Writing and Poetry from the University of East Anglia in 2021. He was poet in residence for Wells-next-the-sea in 2019. He is the author of Lost&Found and The Names. His poems have also been published in Ambit, SMOKE Magazine, The New European, Gulf Daily News, Glassworks Magazine, Tedx, Poetry London Magazine and Poetry Salzburg Review.
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In this episode, I spoke to the insightful and inspiring, Suma Din, about her book Turning the Tide. We talk about the challenges women face today, the importance of making duaa, the soul, gratitude, aging, and so much more.
This episode is part of a mini-series for the month of Ramadan. Millions of Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk for 30 days as part of a month of heightened spirituality and worship.
Suma Din is an author, researcher, educator and freelance writer. Her books range from children's to adult titles, specialising in writing for Muslim women. She continues her passion for strengthening the position of families through her work to work with women and girls through professional projects and in the voluntary sector. Suma is married and mum to three adult children.
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On this episode, I talked to the inspiring, Aliyah Umm Raiyaan. Aliyah's debut book, Ramadan Reflections has been flying off bookshop shelves around the world, totally selling out in the UK, and becoming a Sunday Times best-seller!
In this episode, we talk about her writing journey, and important topics around healing from trauma, forgiveness, truly understanding Allah (swt), being present, healing from your past and so much more. We talk about so many things, and Aliyah's wisdom and warmth oozes out, leaving us with so much to think about.
Aliyah Umm Raiyaan converted to Islam 23 years ago and has been involved in UK dawah for over 20 years. In 2010, she founded Solace UK, a charity that helps women who have converted to Islam and find themselves in difficulty. In 2019 she launched a YouTube show called Honest Tea Talk which brought unscripted conversations to the table about raw unspoken topics related to the Muslim community. She continues to devote her time to helping women achieve their full potential whilst emphasising the importance of developing a personal and close relationship with Allah. Her book, Ramadan Reflections, published by Penguin, is now available. She lives in East London where she home educates her children.
This episode is part of a little mini-series for the month of Ramadan, focusing on spirituality and Islam. During Ramadan, millions of Muslims around the world are fasting, abstaining from food and drink from dawn to dusk for 30 days, as part of a month of heightened spirituality and God-consciousness.
If you enjoyed this episode, please do rate and review as it helps more people find the podcast. Also, I'd love to connect with you on social media:
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