MEET THE AUTHORS ÉMIGRÉI RÉ


MEET THE AUTHORS THE ÉMG


MEET THE AUTHORS THE JOURNALIST


Melanie Reid I


n 2010, journalist Melanie Reid fell from her horse, breaking her neck and fracturing her lower back. Paralysed from the top of her chest down, she spent almost a full year in the spinal unit of Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, learning


Scotland and Sudan. She says: “A disproportionate number of Scots were involved in pre-independence Sudan, and I feel that I am now in a good position to tell both sides of the story.” The novel will cover the events that led to the death of General Charles Gordon, and will also tell the story from the point of view of the Sudanese men and women involved—both those who sided with Gordon, and those who were against him. The author has found Scotland’s book industry to be


“down to earth, open-minded, free of unrealistic expectations and resilient”. She applauds publishers such as Sandstone Press and Charco Press for “making significant waves with foreign-language publications”, and Scotish writers exciting her include Nadine Aisha Jassat, who recently published her first poetry collection with 404 Ink, and Janete Ayachi, who won the 2019 Saltire Poetry Book of the Year 2019 with her début collection.


Looking ahead, Aboulela believes initiatives such as the Scottish BAME Writers’ Network, founded in 2018, will encourage more diversit of voices in the country and help talented writers of colour overcome the obstacles which may prevent them from geting into print.


05


to navigate her way through a world that had previously been invisible to her. She began writing her weekly Spinal Column for the Times Magazine, which described her life as a disabled person. Her memoir The World I Fell Out Of was published in 2019 by Fourth Estate, and went on to win the Saltire Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award. The book reveals the story behind her column, which she says had to be “reasonably cheerful and funny”. She felt the need to tell her whole story, including “the darker stuff”, as well as wanting to write about the hospital staff and her fellow patients in the spinal unit. She adds: “It’s also fair to say I had, over the years since my accident, learnt wisdom, distance and perspective. I could bring depth and some form of reconciliation to my story. This was a new narrative.” According to Reid, her background in tabloid journalism was the “best training” for writing a book. She explains: “You learn to express the essence of your message in 15 words. You learn to create a bit of drama. You learn not to be boring. You learn the power of repetition. You learn to be sparing with adjectives and adverbs. Instinctively, you become a slayer of waffle.” The success of the book has meant a lot to Reid. She says: “I was moved and flatered by the praise the book received, but there is always that undercurrent of, ‘everyone’s saying nice things because they feel sorry for me’. Somehow the Saltire recognition changed that.” More generally, Reid has found Scotland’s book industry a “kind and positive thing to be part of”, as symbolised by the “warm and enthusiastic spirit” of her literary agent, Jenny Brown. She is also full of praise for the “reach and depth and chutzpah” of her home country’s literary scene. She says: “As every area of Scotish life—sexual, gender, constitutional politics, identit, social—becomes more polarised and divisive, literature becomes an increasingly vital arena for rehearsing and exploring ideas without conflict.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8