22
January
2020
|
10:24
Europe/London

MACFEST enjoys successful return to Manchester

The Muslim arts and culture festival MACFEST 2020 enjoyed a successful outing at Blackwell’s book store at University Place, Manchester on Monday 13 January 2020.

Well-known authors participated in celebrating the diversity and richness of Muslim heritage, including the Centre for New Writing’s talented alumna Maryam Hessavi and Usma Malik who read from their new works.

The main aim of MACFEST is to give Muslim heritage a platform in a way that engages people from a variety of backgrounds, communities and ages. This particular literary event was supported by Creative Manchester and Centre for New Writing.

The event was captured in the short film below by That’s Manchester featuring Qaisra Shahraz's talk on what inspired MACFEST and why the message of MACFEST is crucial in the current political climate.

#SpreadHoneyNotHate

More about the event and authors

Maryam Hessavi is a British Manchester-based poet and critic, whose poems and reviews appear in various publications. An alumna of the University of Manchester, she holds an MA in English Literature, with specialisms in Modernism, Creative Writing, and Linguistics.

Usma Malik is an academic specialising in narrative structures in contemporary writing. Born in Birmingham, she worked in education before moving to Manchester to study. She was awarded a Distinction in the Creative Writing MA at the University of Manchester and went on to study for a PhD in Creative Writing, which she was awarded in 2018.

Hosted by Professor John McAuliffe

Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester at the University of Manchester.

To view the video via YouTube, click here.

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