Phoebe Shanahan writes:
Amit Dhand Photo: Richard Wilcocks |
Attributing his continuing career in pharmacy to his love of
meeting people, it should have come as no surprise that author Amit Dhand
easily captivated the room, taking us on a journey from his parents’ corner
shop in Bradford through to his decade-long struggle to be published.
Punctuating his tale with anecdotes that had us laughing out loud,
Dhand provided an immensely helpful insight into the world of novel-writing and
publishing. From practical techniques to emphasising the importance of
authenticity, Dhand encouraged the audience to ‘not quit’ in their writing.
Dhand inspires not only though skill but in his love for storytelling. I
couldn’t wait to dive into Streets of Darkness, and am intrigued to read the
work of Tess Gerritsen, an author whose influence provided a wonderful arc to
Dhand’s story.
Learning from his father’s decision to ‘change the narrative’ and
engage with a local gang who were targeting his shop, the primary theme of
Dhand’s talk was one of engagement and resistance of segregation. He explores
the battle of cultures; why divisions exist and what happens if you have
changed your narrative and your family has not. In a fracturing world, Dhand
wishes to remind us that ‘the things that scare us are all the same’.
Confirming to an enquiring audience member that he would not be
tempted to make a run at politics, Amit Dhand epitomises the author who ‘has a
lot to say’ but feels it is best to do so through fiction. With a third novel
and TV drama on the way, watch this space.
Megan Fowler writes:
Megan Fowler writes:
Working in a pharmacy by day, Amit Dhand
admits that he sometimes writes through the night to get down the plot that has
now fully formed in his head. Getting the book published once is written isn’t
easy, however – Amit talks us through the ten years and 1.2 million words that
led to the publication of his first novel, Streets
of Darkness, in 2016. Girl Zero,
the second book about the protagonist, has since been published, and a third is
on the way.
One of my highlights of the event was the
anecdote that Amit opened with, about the influence of his father telling him
to ‘change the narrative’ in his life – a lesson which he later applied to his
books. Amit was a wonderful speaker and the audience were very enthusiastic,
asking lots of questions at the end to try and learn even more about him. I
enjoyed hearing the reasons why Amit wanted to create this story, in particular
– he says he wanted to give the world a brown superhero, as this is something
we don’t get to see that often.
Another piece of information I found very
interesting was the fact that all of the chapters in his books are very short –
around 1,700 words – specifically so that they become impossible to put down!
The reader thinks that reading another chapter is feasible because they’re so
short, Amit says, and the audience appears to agree.
I’m now really looking forward to reading
the books – I’ll make sure to set aside a good amount of time, as I know that I
won’t be able to put them down!
LitFest is very grateful for the support from Leeds University students Megan Fowler and Phoebe Shanahan.
Audience Comments
A fascinating
literary journey engagingly told.
Persistently putting early rejections behind him, until finally landing
his first book deal. Great story
First time I've
been to a LitFest event – I'll definitely be back (and bring friends). Excellent evening
This event gave
me an insight into the writing process and makes me realise just how difficult
it was for A A Dhand to publish his books.
He also inspired me to read more fiction books
Change the
Narrative. How he got to where he is
today. Very interesting personal
journey. Informed about race, identity,
India, Pakistan, Bradford
Fascinating
account of Amit's patience and tenacity iin dealing with agents and advvisers
while he was experimenting with writing first drafts. His colour-coded plan for his successful
final draft was really impressive
Excellent event,
thought-provoking and candid. Amit Dhand
was as much of a pleasure to listen to as he is to read. Well done, Headingley LitFest
Excellent
evening – good talk by author and interesting questions (but he needed to speak
up a bit!)
Last year's talk
inspired me to buy/read a book. This
will make me buy the next one.
Very engaging
talk from an impressive young man
Fascinating
insight into what drives someone to get their story published, the problems
they face and the determination to succeed.
Really interesting personal views
Very
inspirational speaker. Exactly what a
local lit festival should be about – talking about writing an local issues and
solving world problems
Reading a Lee
Child novel at present, so I had to come along to meet Amit. I'd disagree with him, of course – he would
be a breath of fresh oxygen that UK politics really needs
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Ed: Lee Child
gives Amit a very strong recommendation on the cover; the audience suggested
Amit would make a good politician