Field Trip: Muslim Literary Festival

All Lit Up: First of all, congratulations on the inaugural Muslim Literary Festival! What was the original spark or idea for starting the Festival?

Muslim Literary Festival: Thank you so much! Our Founder & Executive Director, Narjis Sheikh, is a women’s fiction and romance writer. When she entered the publishing landscape in 2020, she noticed a significant gap between Muslim writers and the resources, community, and opportunities available to them. Even though there was a notable increase in Muslim authors getting their work out there in 2016, Narjis found that craft courses tailored to her specific questions and identity were scarce. As a coping mechanism, she started to envision a Muslim Literary Festival, never imagining there were so many other writers like her or that this dream would materialize through the hard work and dedication of our amazing team.

All Lit Up: Share with us what’s especially exciting about Muslim writing right now, and how the Festival brings its uniqueness to the fore.

Muslim Literary Festival: The diversity of narratives in Muslim writing is truly exciting. For a long time, the world has been led to believe that Islam is a monolith, with Muslims living identical, perfect lives. In reality, each of us has a unique relationship with our faith, often shaped by our cultural backgrounds, whether Pakistani, Sudanese, or otherwise. It’s been incredible to witness Muslim writers share their stories across genres like fantasy, contemporary fiction, memoirs, and more.

Our MLF logo embodies our vision for the Muslim literary landscape. The open doors welcome everyone to explore books by Muslim authors. The surrounding plants represent the liveliness and growth that flourish in every writer and their work, while the hint of geometric Islamic architecture above the doors reminds us of our roots.

All Lit Up: Your first Festival took place earlier this month, at CSI Spadina in Toronto. Tell us about a moment(s) that was/were especially invigorating.

Muslim Literary Festival: Our inaugural Muslim Literary Festival truly took our breath away. In the span of six months, we meticulously ensured every detail not only aligned with our mission but also provided a high-quality experience for attendees, speakers, participating literary agents, and volunteers.

From the very beginning of the event, the room buzzed with conversations, new connections, and budding collaborations. It was beautiful to see our vision come to life, with writers attentively taking notes during the panel and workshop. In the days following the event, our team was in awe, reminiscing about the vibrant atmosphere and meaningful conversations we had with writers and industry professionals, telling each other, “We really did that.”

All Lit Up: Something that we found really special about this Festival is the incorporation of cultural foods at the start and during lunch, as well as prayer time. Why was it important to make space for Muslim culture more widely, outside of writing, during the day?

Muslim Literary Festival: Every piece of writing encapsulates the author’s entire world. While not always visible, their culture, religion, family, friends, and food are integral parts of who they are. We felt it was essential to incorporate a variety of cultural foods throughout the event, allowing attendees to enjoy delights like white chocolate cranberry cookies from the Palestinian bakery Pistacia Bakery, instant chai from Karak Tea, lunch from Lebanese Gardens, and sweets from Misri Desserts.

All Lit Up: We’re already looking forward to the next Festival: can you share any ideas, at this early stage, about what’s in store for its sophomore year?

Muslim Literary Festival: Thank you for asking! We’ve been discussing our plans for MLF’s future extensively. While gathering so many Muslim writers and industry professionals for a full-day festival was fantastic, we realized there’s much more we can and should be doing. We plan to expand MLF online, reaching Muslim writers worldwide with resources not only related to the industry but also to craft lessons. We also aim to connect writers to form supportive writing groups that can help them navigate the publishing landscape. We still intend to host in-person events, as the magic of real-life connections can be incredibly inspiring and often serves as the catalyst many need.

All Lit Up: Obviously, we love reading recommendations! Do you have any authors or books you’d recommend to someone looking to read more Muslim writing?

Muslim Literary Festival: It’s difficult to give blanket recommendations – we like to get to know a person by process of interrogation to provide catered recommendations. However, some authors we admire include Sabaa Tahir, Uzma Jalaluddin, Fatima Farheen Mirza, and S.K. Ali. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s a great starting point!

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Thanks so much to the organizers of the Muslim Literary Festival for sharing how their first year went! You can learn more about the Festival via their website here.

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