Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Into the world of speculative fiction: An Interview with 'Small World City'

This past August, Dhaka’s speculative fiction magazine 'Small World City' enjoyed their first anniversary. The magazine, over this last year, has published some of the more striking works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry coming out of the country

2m ago

A case for funding the Bangladeshi English-writing scene

If the country’s literary potential is not given generous support, we may never create favourable conditions for aspiring writers to devote time and energy to the art

8m ago

A country coming to life

Weaving the grand themes of politics and history, the book is a revelation into how the ordinary lives within a country are buffeted by constant changes.

8m ago

Explosive speculative fiction in the latest issue of ‘Small World City’

What struck me the most about these stories is the firm, unflinching, and confident authorial voice sneaking up on and dictating the reader’s thoughts, orienting them to feel sympathy for the characters no matter how unlikeable they are.

11m ago

4 fully funded Creative Writing MFA programs in the US worth exploring

While Canada, and now some programs in the UK, have also started offering the degree, it is in the United States that it is most common and rigorous.

1y ago

6 UK small presses that consider unsolicited submissions

This means you can submit a manuscript on your own, without a literary agent.

1y ago

A fellowship of humanity and the wild

Martell’s narrative journalism is a lesson for those in the field as to how a writer can instil empathy for the others around. The reader can taste affection for both the animals and humans in his storytelling.

1y ago

Local publishers, sales, and the 2023 Dhaka Lit Fest

This year a ticketing system was imposed. As such, sales were lower than expected.

1y ago

January 25, 2018

Struggles of having a unisex name

The day people stop making gender assumptions based on my name, the colours pink and blue will finally be free from the shackles of gender roles related stigma.

January 25, 2018

Winter, Grief, and Glee

The sky was a sickly shade of sepia.

January 11, 2018

Artemis - A porter's guide to the moon city

I haven't read “The Martian” yet, but the reviews steaming with overwhelming appreciation definitely had me hyped for the author's latest title, Artemis. Did I enjoy my first Andy Weir book? Keep reading.

January 11, 2018

Friends from old days

“Hovering above the age old banyan tree that is standing on the field with its long tentacles and intruding roots, they used to herald the possibility of a bleak future, or at least, the people thought so.

January 11, 2018

Hands vs. Cutlery

While there are many other important battles to stress about, there is this one battle which catches everyone's attention while dining in public: hands vs. cutlery.

January 4, 2018