This document provides biographies and summaries of works by several contemporary Pakistani authors who write in English. It profiles novelists, short story writers, playwrights and poets such as Jamil Ahmed, Adeerus Ghayan, Nida Jay, Uzma Aslam Khan, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Moni Mohsin, Ali Sethi, Muhammad Hanif, Aamer Hussein, Suhayl Saadi, Musharraf Ali Farooqui, Azhar Ali Abidi, Ayad Akhtar, Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi and others. It discusses their published books, short stories, plays and columns to provide an overview of their body of work and contributions

1. Contemporary Pakistani
literature in English
ILYAS BABAR AWAN
LECTURER IN ENGLISH
NUML
MICROPOET@GMAIL.COM

2. Jamil Ahmed
(Born: June 1, 1931,Punjab, Pakistan
Died: July 12, 2014

3. Jamil Ahmed
Jamil Ahmad (1931–2014) was a Pakistani novelist and story writer, who wrote in English language.
He is known for his anthology, The Wandering Falcon which was short listed for Man Asian Literary
Prize, widely known as Asia's highest literary award, in 2011. The book was also a finalist for DSC prize
for South Asian Literature in 2013.
Books
The Wandering Falcon can either be construed as a short story collection or a novel, based on
differing perspectives. The book narrates the story of Tor Baz (the black falcon) and his travails
through the remote tribal areas along the Pakistan - Afghan border where he experiences the lives of
the ethnic Pashtuns.The stories travel through the strict code of conduct of the tribals known as
pashtunwali, the lawlessness of the land where women are traded as commodity, adultery and
anarchism, silhouetted against the Baluch desert landscape.The book received critical acclaim.
Jamil Ahmad has also published a short story, The Sins of the Mother, which appeared on Granta112:
Pakistan in 2010

4. Adeerus Ghayan
Adeerus Ghayan is a Pakistani novelist who writes in the English and Urdu languages.
Novels
Bullets and Train (2014)
Life of a Lotus , You are Invited ,Fire of Love
The Scriptwriter Dollz (2015) Rimachi (2015) Ibil (2015)
Non Fiction
Ideology of Islam (2014) History of Islam (2014) Reducing Autism Poisoning Impacts (2014)
Notable Short Stories
Dragon’s Teeth ,Crime, Climate and Change - Australian Prime Minister is charged by the International
Criminal Court for facilitating Climate Change activities

5. Nida Jay
Born: September 2, 1985 (age 31), Lahore, Pakistan

6. Nida Jay
Nida Jay (born September 2, 1985) is a Pakistani novelist who writes in the English language. She
is the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Dunnen First Novel Prize.
The debut novel Heart of Eternity published by Mirador has gained world-wide plaudits and
recognition making Jay an influential name in philosophical and religious literature. Jay is a
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is also a member of the Stanford University vibrant
group of literary scholars
Jay was born and raised in a Kashmiri family in Lahore. She has an MA in Creative Writing and
Literature from Kinnaird College, and an MFA from the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the
University of Reading, where she was influenced by Rumi and Dante. In 2010, she moved to the
United Arab Emirates and currently lives in Dubai with her Russian-Uzbek husband and two
children.Jay frequently travels to the United Kingdom and Lahore where her family resides.

7. Uzma Aslam khan

8. Uzma Aslam Khan
Uzma Aslam Khan (born 19 February 1969) is an award-winning Pakistani writer. Her four novels
include Trespassing (2003), The Geometry of God (2008), and Thinner Than Skin (2012).
The Story of Noble Rot (Penguin India, 2001. Reissued by Rupa & Co. in 2009)
Trespassing (Flamingo/HarperCollin UK, 2003. Metropolitan/Henry Holt and Company USA,
2004)
The Geometry of God (Clockroot Books/Interlink Publishing USA, 2009. Haus Publishing UK,
2010.)
Thinner than Skin (Clockroot Books/Interlink USA, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins India,
2012)

9. Daniya Mohiuudin

10. Daniyal Mueenuddin
Daniyal Mueenuddin (Urdu: ‫الدین‬ ‫معین‬ ‫)دانیال‬ (born 1963) is a Pakistani-American author who
writes in English. His short-story collection In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, has been translated
into sixteen languages, and won The Story Prize, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and other
honors and critical acclaim.
Born in Los Angeles, USA, he spent his childhood in Pakistan. At the age of thirteen he moved to
the USA, where he received higher education and worked as a journalist, a director, a lawyer, a
businessman, before finally devoting his efforts to writing.
Mueenuddin, Daniyal (2009). In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. W. W. Norton.

11. Moni Mohsin
Born: 1963, Lahore, Pakistan

12. Moni Mohsin
Moni Mohsin (born 1963) is a Pakistani Pakistani writer based in London, United Kingdom.
Books
The End of Innocence
Tender Hooks a.k.a. Duty Free
The Diary of a Social Butterfly (2008)

13. Ali Sethi
Born: July 2, 1984 (age 32), Lahore, Pakistan

14. Ali Sethi
Ali Sethi (born July 2, 1984) is a Pakistani singer, musician, writer, and columnist. Sethi achieved
critical appraisal and recognition for authoring a novel The Wish Maker,which has been ranked
in may top-ten lists and has been listed for DSC Prize for South Asia Literature and the Shakti
Bhatt First Book Prize Award. Sethi wrote several columns for New York Times, The New Yorker,
The Caravan, and The Friday Times.

15. Muhammad Hanif
Born: November 1964, Okara,Pakistan

16. Muhammad Hanif:
Muhammed Hanif (born November 1964 in Okara, Pakistan) is a British-Pakistani writer and journalist who is the author of the critically
acclaimed A Case of Exploding Mangoes, which was long-listed for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and
won the Commonwealth Prize for Best Book.His second book, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, won the Wellcome Book Prize. He also works as a
correspondent for the BBC News based in Karachi and was the writer for its critically acclaimed drama and the feature film, The Long
Night.
He work has been published by The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The New Yorkerand The Washington Post. His play The
Dictator's Wife has been staged at the Hampstead Theatre.
His first novel A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Book Awardand longlisted for the 2008
Man Booker Prize. It won the 2009 Commonwealth Book Prize in the Best First Book category and the 2008 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.
Hanif has also written for the stage and screen, including a feature film, The Long Night (2002), a BBC radio play, What Now, Now That We
Are Dead?, and the stage play The Dictator's Wife (2008).His second novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti, was published in 2011. It was
shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize (2012), and the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature (2013)
He is currently collaborating with composer Mohammed Fairouz on an opera titled Bhutto.
Hanif's style has often been compared with that of author Salman Rushdie. But Hanif disagrees. Even though he says that he enjoys
reading Rushdie's books, he would not want to suffer the same fate as Rushdie did.
Works:A Case of Exploding Mangoes (2008) Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (2011)
The Baloch who is not missing and others who are (2013)

17. Aamir Hussein
Born: April 8, 1955 (age 61), Karachi, Pakistan

18. Aamer Hussein
Aamer Hussein (born 8 April 1955, Karachi) is a Pakistani short story writer and critic.
Hussein grew up in Karachi, where he attended Lady Jennings School and the Convent of Jesus and
Mary. He spent most summers with his mother's family in India. He studied in Ootacamund, South
India, for two years before moving to London in 1970. Hussein is fluent in seven languages: English,
Urdu, Hindi, French, Italian, Spanish and Persian.
This Other Salt (Saqi Books, 1999)
Turquoise (Saqi Books, 2002)
Insomnia (Telegram Books, 2007)
Another Gulmohar Tree (Telegram Books, 2009)
The Cloud Messenger (Telegram Books, 2011)
The Swan's Wife (ILQA, 2014; republ. as 37 Bridges, HarperCollins, 2015)

19. Suhayl Saadi
Born: October 23, 1961 (age 54), Yorkshire, United Kingdom

20. Suhayl Saadi
Suhayl Saadi (born 1961, Beverley, Yorkshire) is a physician,author and dramatist based in Glasgow, Scotland. His
varied literary output includes novels, short stories, anthologies of fiction, song lyrics, plays for stage and radio
theatre, and wisdom pieces for The Dawn Patrol, the Sarah Kennedy show on BBC Radio .
A novel, Joseph's Box, inspired by the Biblical/Quranic account of Joseph and Potiphar's wife, was published by
Two Ravens Press in August 2009 and has been nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2011. The novel is
set in Scotland, England, Sicily and Pakistan.
Bibliography
Books
2009: Joseph's Box. Ullapool: Two Ravens Press. Paperback
2004: Psychoraag. Edinburgh: Black & White Publishing. Hardcover:
2004: The White Cliffs. Dingwall: Sandstone Press.
2001: The Burning Mirror. Edinburgh: Polygon Books. Paperback
1997: The Snake. (Under the pen name Melanie Desmoulins.)

21. Musharraf Ali Farooqui
Born: July 26, 1968 (age 48), Hyderabad, Pakistan

22. Musharraf Ali Farooqui
Musharraf Ali Farooqi (born 26 July 1968, Hyderabad, Pakistan) is a Pakistani-Canadian writer, translator and essayist.
Farooqi was among the five writers shortlisted for Asia's most prestigious literary prize in 2012.
Novels and other fiction
Tik-Tik: The Master of Time – Children's Novel
Rabbit Rap – An illustrated novel with art by Michelle Farooqi (Viking/Penguin Books India, South Asia Edition), July 2012
Between Clay and Dust: A Novel (Aleph Book Company, South Asia Edition), April 2012
Between Clay and Dust: A Novel (Restless Books, World Edition), October 2013
The Amazing Moustaches of Moochhander the Iron Man & Other Stories illustrated by Michelle Farooqi (Puffin India,
2011)
The Story of a Widow (Alfred A. Knopf, 2008; Picador India, 2009)
The Cobbler's Holiday: or Why Ants Don’t Wear Shoes (Roaring Brook Press, 2008)
Salar Jang's Passion (Summersdale Publishers, UK, 2002; HarperCollins India, 2001)

23. Azhar Ali Abidi
Born: February 6, 1968 (age 48), Wah, Pakistan

24. Azhar Ali Abidi
Azhar Ali Abidi (born 6 February 1968 in Wah, Pakistan) is a Pakistani Australian author and
translator. He went to school in Pakistan and later studied electrical engineering at the Imperial
College London and Masters of Business Administration at the University of Melbourne. He
migrated to Australia in 1994 and lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Novels
Passarola Rising (2006)
La maquina de volar (2008)
Twilight (2008) (reissued in United States as The House of Bilqis) (2009)
La casa degli amori sognati (2010)
Il mio matrimonio pakistano (2011)

25. Ayad Akhter
Born: October 28, 1970 (age 45), StatenIsland, New York City, New York, United States

26. Ayad Akhtar
Ayad Akhtar (born October 28, 1970) is a Pakistani American playwright, novelist, screenwriter
and actor who is best known for his play, Disgraced. The play received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for
Drama, was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, and was named the most produced play
in America for the 2015-16 Season. Akhtar's work covers various themes including the human
condition, love, responsibility, relationships, the American-Muslim experience, economics,
immigration, identity, and aspects of culture.
2012 American Dervish. Little, Brown and Company.

27. Nafisa Haji

28. Nafisa Haji’s works

29. Rafia Zakaria

30. Khalid Muhammad

31. Sara Naveed

33. Shazaf Fatima Haider

34. SFH’s work

35. Lara Zuberi

36. Lara Zuberi’s work

37. Tanzila Khan

38. Tanzila’s work

39. Saba Imtiaz

40. Saba Imtiaz’s work

41. Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi
Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and grew up in New York. She has graduate
degrees in language education and educational psychology and works as an online instructor.
She lives in Chandler, Arizona, with her husband and two children. She can be contacted at:
nausheenzaidi@yahoo.com

42. Nausheen’s work