by Sunny Hundal
Editor

Is Farah Damji out of prison and terrorising people’s wallets again?

That is the question on everyone’s lips as the most notorious name in Asian media history hits the headlines again.

Damji was recently profiled in two places – the London Evening Standard and The Economist’s Intelligent Life magazine. I’ve been trying to find out what she’s up to ever since.

There are two issues here. Farah Damji is trying to publish her memoir, a book titled ‘Try Me’. Secondly, she still has tussles going on with the court which we will document further in coming days.

According to court officials she (or her representatives) were last at Blackfriars Crown Court on 15th July. She is now due to be sentenced and the court is waiting on dates agreeable to both parties for another hearing. More on that soon.

The situation around her book is more unclear.

Farah Damji claims that ‘Try Me’ is being published by Ark Press, run by a woman by the name of Anna Cohen. So far it has been remarkably difficult to get Anna Cohen on the phone or even meet her in person at the office.

Any attempts to reach Ms Cohen at the office are rebuffed at the intercom and visitors are asked to make an appointment before they come into the office. It’s not clear what the secrecy is over. My attempts to contact Ms Cohen by phone were also rebuffed.

The publication of the book was partly delayed because Farah was in discussion with the new publishing company Revenge Ink. But after plenty of tussles, arguments and a deal that was on and off for at least three times – it fell through.

Revenge Ink’s managing director Amita Mukherjee said she found it difficult to “establish mutual trust and confidence” and “soon the insults began to fly”.

Furthermore it is unclear whether the book has been legally vetted for libel though a spokeswoman for Ark Press claims it is. One source mentioned in the book says it contains multiple “lies” about them.

When I repeatedly asked who was printing the book on behalf of Ark Press, I was only told by email that I would have to buy the book to see the listed printer.

The press release for the book states: “Renowned for her much publicized affairs, front-page convictions and for famously blogging about absconding from Downview prison, Farah has remained a controversial figure. Driven by an old urge to self-annihilate, in Try Me Farah is brutally honest about her search through sex, men, bad relationships, drugs and by creating chaos.”

Apparently, she is “currently working on an ‘green’ capsule collection for Spring Summer 2010, for a popular high street chain”.

A press release on Farah’s publisher states that Ark Press was founded in 2009 with “the intention of bringing great writing to a wider, more diverse audience”.

Also on their publishing schedule is a new novel from former broadcaster Farrukh Dhondy, who is also named as the company’s commissioning editor in London. The release says nothing about Anna Cohen at all.

Their assistant would only say that Ms Cohen established Ark Press about five months ago, used to work in New York and is new to publishing.

What’s remarkable isn’t the fact that Farah Damji has returned to the scene – that was always going to happen – but that the media continues to give her a free ride without digging further into the background. Unfortunately, it isn’t the last we’ve heard of her.