Imran Mahmood | |
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Born | 1969 (age 54–55) Liverpool, England |
Occupation |
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Nationality | British |
Education | Kingston University Inns of Court |
Imran Mahmood (born 1969) is a British novelist and barrister. His first novel You Don't Know Me (2017), which was shortlisted for the Glass Bell Award in 2018, was dramatised by the BBC in 2021.
Mahmood, whose parents are first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, was born in Liverpool in 1969. [1] Growing up in Liverpool, he attended comprehensive schools. [1] [2] After earning his undergraduate degree in 1990 at Kingston University in London, he studied for the bar at the Inns of Court. [3]
As of 2020 [update] he is a barrister, with chambers in Middle Temple, specialising in criminal law and in common law. [1] [3] He and his wife live in South East London. [4]
In Mahmood's first novel, You Don't Know Me, a young man on trial for murder urgently tells his story to a jury. [5] According to Mahmood, the novel was inspired by young men he defended in London courts. [1] The book's 2017 publication was well received. The Guardian listed it as one of the best crime novels of 2017, calling it "an original take on a courtroom drama that puts the reader in the position of the jury ... a gripping, vivid depiction of London’s gang culture with an authentic feel." [6] Simon Mayo selected it as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice in 2017. [2] In 2018, it was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, which according to Irish Times "is the only award to reward storytelling in all genres, from romance and crime to historical and speculative." [7] It was also longlisted for the 2018 best crime novel of the year, both by the Crime Writers' Association (for the CWA Gold Dagger award) and by the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award (awarded annually at the Harrogate International Festivals). [2]
In 2020, the BBC announced it would be adapting the book into a four-part dramatisation, to be directed by Sarmad Masud. [8] The four-part series began airing in December 2021, with lead roles played by Samuel Adewunmi and Bukky Bakray. [9]
Mahmood's second book, I Know What I Saw, is a thriller about a murder in the affluent London district of Mayfair. It was published by Raven Books, the new crime imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. [2] [10] Its narrator, formerly a wealthy banker, meets scepticism when police cannot confirm his account of witnessing murder. [11] The Times recommended it as one of their "Best Thrillers for 2021." [12] The Financial Times also praised the book, saying "it affirms his talent." [13]
Mahmood's third book, All I Said Was True, was published in 2022. [9] [14]
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Born in Liverpool in 1969 to first-generation immigrants from Pakistan, he downplays the challenges of starting at the bar for a comprehensive-educated, working-class British Asian from the north of England during the early 1990s.
Mahmood is a practising barrister with more than 25 years' experience. Born and brought up in Liverpool, he now lives in London. His début novel, You Don't Know Me (Michael Joseph), was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice, was longlisted for the Theakston crime novel of the year and for the CWA Gold Dagger, 2018 and was shortlisted for The Glass Bell Award, 2018. It is currently being adapted for screen in three parts.
I graduated from Kingston in 1990 and then went on to read for the Bar at the only place one could in those days - the Inns Of Court School of Law - and I was lucky enough to pass. Then I got pupillage in London and qualified as a practising barrister. I have been in practice now for 25 years or so in Crime and General Common Law. And then - in May this year I had my debut novel called You Don't Know Me published by Penguin
He has been working on the criminal bar in London for over 20 years and regularly appears in jury trials across the country dealing in serious and complex criminal cases. He now lives in South East London with his wife and is currently plotting a second novel.
For me, one of the highlights of the past year was the publication of criminal barrister turned writer, Imran Mahmood's, wonderfully assured debut, You Don't Know Me, which features a young man, brought up on the mean streets of London, on trial for murder... It was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year
Barrister Imran Mahmood's debut novel, You Don't Know Me (Michael Joseph, £12.99), is an original take on a courtroom drama that puts the reader in the position of the jury ... a gripping, vivid depiction of London's gang culture with an authentic feel.
Now in its second year, the Glass Bell is the only award to reward storytelling in all genres, from romance and crime to historical and speculative.
The BBC is adapting crime novel You Don't Know Me with The Crown writer Tom Edge and Mrs Wilson producer Snowed-In Productions. Deadline understands that the British public broadcaster is remaking Imran Mahmood's novel as a four-part drama.
His third, All I Said Was True, is being released in the summer of 2022. That follows the character of Layla, who is arrested for the death of another character, Amy, following her death on a London office rooftop. Layla says the man behind the crime is named Michael, but police can't find any trace of him. Will she be released or will the truth come out?
Raven Books, the new crime imprint from Bloomsbury, will launch in January...[It] will specialise in literary crime, thrillers and suspense...
This is Xander Shute: once a wealthy banker, now living on the streets. As he shelters for the night in an empty Mayfair flat, he hears its occupants returning home, and scrambles to hide as the couple argue. Trapped in his hiding place, he soon finds himself witnessing a vicious murder.Published: 10-06-2021
as a portrait of vulnerability, it's sympathetically rendered and the resolution surprisingly disturbing.
The violent narrative inexorably grips the attention, and the dialogue is always vividly idiomatic (Mahmood channelling his legal clients?), but it's the examination of the mental state of his intelligent protagonist caught in a downward spiral that affirms his talent.
Goldsboro Books today announced the six titles shortlisted for the 2018 Glass Bell Award, the prize introduced last year to celebrate the best storytelling across all genres of contemporary fiction...[including] Imran Mahmood for You Don't Know Me, which was longlisted for both a CWA Gold Dagger and the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year