Once Upon A Time, Tomorrow by Hilal Chouman
In this exclusive extract from Wasafiri 118: Abolitions - Writing Against Abandonment, Hilal Chouman – translated by Caline Nasrallah – explores themes of memory, grief, and the passage of time through two people's relationship to each other — weaving together personal moments with broader, unexplained phenomena, and creating a sense of mystery and unresolved tension.
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Virgin Mobile by Andrea Gissdal
Wasafiri is proud to publish the 2023 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize shortlisted pieces. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by promising new writers from all over the globe. In this fictional piece by Andrea Gissdal, the narrator's obsession with the harmful and toxic effects of mobile phones is depicted through her husband's infidelity.
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Ripening by Dushi Rasiah
This intimate fictional piece by Dushi Rasiah depicts the narrator's uncertainties, family secrets, and her own sense of identity culminating in a shared moment of compromise.
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Stupid Vegetarian Chicken by Eve Newstead
In this short story, Eve Newstead intertwines themes of family, care, love, childhood, self harm, and body image to capture a tender moment.
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Exclusive Extract: Amma by Saraid de Silva
Wasafiri is proud to publish this exclusive extract of Amma by Saraid de Silva (Weatherglass Books, 4 April 2024), a gripping novel exploring family trauma, post-colonial displacement, and queerness.
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The Acre by Shere Ross
In this short story, themes of loss, marriage dynamics, and community gossip intertwine, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of human connection and resilience.
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Dad Died by Nneoma Kenure
Nneoma Kenure’s life writing piece, both humourous and touching, reflects on the author's complex relationship with her father and his looming death.
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From Our Waters by Nuraliah Norasid
Read an exclusive extract from this atmospheric, immersive, and haunting short story, which was first published in Wasafiri 116: Shorelines: South East Asia and the Littoral, our winter special issue co-guest edited by Nazry Bahrawi, Joanne Leow, and Y-Dang Troeung.
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Giant Flamingo Great For Pool Float by Laura Lynes
Navigating the bleakness of consumerism, capitalism, and the workplace with tart humour and a sharp eye, Laura Lynes' short story excavates the warm undersides of mundane tragedies, brimming with the possibilities of resilience, love, and poetry.
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Exclusive Extract: A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro
To mark Women in Translation month, and in anticipation of our interview with Claudia Piñeiro in our forthcoming autumn issue Wasafiri 115, we're pleased to share an exclusive extract from A Little Luck, Piñeiro's new novel translated by Frances Riddle and published by Charco Press.
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Black Man on the Run by Ira Mathur
This exclusive extract from Ira Mathur's pacy and piercing short story, 'Black Man on the Run', first published in Wasafiri 114: Windrush: Writing the Scandal, opens with a feeling, and a homecoming, one that’s stopped short at the border.
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Kasila's Dream by Foday Mannah
Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe — in all their diversity and complexity.
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Notes for a Dictionary of Walking the Fingers by Dan Byam Shaw
Wasafiri is pleased to publish the pieces shortlisted for the 2022 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. The poems, essays, and short stories in this series showcase the best new writing from the best new writers across the globe – in all their diversity and complexity.
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An Extract from Made in Mauritius by Amal Sewtohul
In this extract from Amal Sewtohul’s Made in Mauritius, translated from French by Nadiyah Abdullatif, the narrator explores his complex heritage, and the lineage of his father, an worker from China, who would eventually make his way to Mauritius. Wasafiri 110:
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An Excerpt of 'The Burke Street Chronicles' by Ingrid Persaud
Read an exclusive extract from Ingrid Persaud's 'The Burke Street Chronicles', first published in Wasafiri 110, and part of a series of sharp, funny audio short stories produced by BBC Sounds. You can read the full excerpt in Wasafiri 110, now available to download or purchase online.
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An Extract from What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You by Sharma Taylor
Winner of the 2020 Wasafiri New Writing Prize for Fiction for ' How You Make Jamaican Coconut Oil', Sharma Taylor’s debut novel, What a Mother’s Love Don’t Teach You, is a vivid and moving story of belonging, family, and inheritance.
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Eggs keep falling from the fourth floor by Bhavika Govil
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
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Tessellation by Anam Raheem
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
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The Claws Come First by Mónica Ibarra Parle
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled new writers from all over the globe.
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Fuck Marry Kill by Riddhi Dastidar
Wasafiri is proud to publish the shortlisted works of the 2021 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize. These poems, essays, and short stories detail a range of emotions and experiences, produced by skilled emerging writers from all over the globe.
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Harriet's Party: An Excerpt from 'Love Marriage' by Monica Ali
To celebrate the launch of Wasafiri 109, read an extract from Monica Ali's Love Marriage (2021, Virago Books), a warm and tender novel that examines the ways in which class, race, and culture intersect in contemporary Britain.
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An Extract from 'The Book Smuggler' by Bina Shah
Download the full text of 'The Book Smuggler' for free until the end of January, or read it in Wasafiri 10 8: House of Wisdom … When I was a young boy, my grandfather taught me the difference between stars and planets.
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Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga
There is no better lycée than Our Lady of the Nile. Nor is there any higher. Twenty-five hundred metres, the white teachers proudly proclaim. ‘Two thousand four hundred ninety-three metres,’ points out Sister Lydwine, our geography teacher.
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Holding On by Adam Zmith
2020 … We’ve lived in separate boxes in Hackney all this time. … I pull off the mask that conceals my nose and my mouth. I’m among the trees now, looking for you. Are you on the towpath? I check my phone. No messages.
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