The annual Muslim Writers Awards will take place this Saturday, 29th March, at the ICC in Birmingham, to celebrate the breadth and quality of British Muslim literary talent. Now in its second year, the event is being supported by the Prime Minister’s office and will be broadcast on Islam Channel.

MWA 2008 will recognize the work of 26 writers across eight categories, with the ‘Writer of the Year’ award presented by Jermaine Jackson at the event.

It is organised by Birmingham-based Innovate Arts, a non-profit body.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged his support and said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to bring excellent writing by Muslim writers to new audiences, and increase the mutual understanding of the people of Britain. Through literature we can learn about disparate cultures and widen our perspectives of the world.”

Imran Akram, head of Innovate Arts, said: “The initiative has a wider objective than the awards themselves. We want to encourage talented British Muslims, of all ages and backgrounds, to develop their powers of creative expression. This is a vital tool for encouraging integration and cementing community cohesion.”

A thousand guests are expected to attend the event. Judges to the awards included Guardian journalist Riazat Butt, writer and broadcaster Waseem Mehmood and AIM editor Sunny Hundal.

Awards Categories and Nominees

Non Fiction
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed (Age: 33) London
Zaynab Dawood (Age: 31) Blackburn
Ameena Hanif (Age: 30)
Dr Ahmar Malik (Age: 40) Birmingham

Short Story
Kashif Choudry (Age: 28) Solihull, West Midlands
Samina Rehman (Age: 34) Nottingham
Zimarina Sarwar (Age: 21) Wembley, London
Romana Majid (Age: 28) London

Best Novel
Fatima Martin (Age: 49) Woking, Surrey
Shahida Rahman (Age: ) Cambridge
Dina Begum (Age: 27) Barking, London
Zahra Rashid (Age: 33) Pinner, London

Poetry
Shameam Akhtar (Age 38) Bradford
Mahtab Khan (Age: 43) Birmingham
Zahid Hussain (Age: ) Manchester
Wajid Hussain (Age: ) Newcastle Upon Tyne

Under 16’s
Humaira Rashid (Age: 16) Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Hanzla Arif MacDonald (Aged 15)
Saadiyah Khan (Age: 14) Bradford
Aisha Nawaz (Age: 15) Ward End, Birmingham

Best Children’s Story
Aliya Vaughan (Age: 37) Brixton Hill, London
Sima Yacoob (Age: ) Hall Green, Birmingham
Gazala Ishaq (Age: ) Region: TBC
Haroon Rashid (Age 33) Erdington, Birmingham

www.muslimwritersawards.co.uk
Media contact: Junaid Bhatti on junaid@ballencrieff.net