Zahid Hussain (born 6 March 1972) is a British fiction writer and poet of Pakistani origin. [1] His debut novel, The Curry Mile , [2] was published by Suitcase Press, a Manchester-based publishing house. Hussain explores social and ethical issues in his writing. [3] [4]
Hussain was born in Darwen, Lancashire to Pakistani parents and grew up in Blackburn speaking Urdu, Punjabi, and English. His father is of Mirpuri origin from Azad Kashmir, while is mother is of Pashtun origin from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [1] He has a European IT degree from Sheffield Hallam University and postgraduate management qualifications from the universities of Bournemouth, Barcelona, Poitiers and Bordeaux. [1] [5]
Since 2021 Hussain has been a councillor on Manchester City Council, representing the Levenshulme ward for the Labour Party. [6]
Hussain is chair of the trustees of Manchester City of Literature. [7] He is a winner of the North West Poetry Slam. [8]
A balti or bāltī gosht is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl". The name may have come from the metal dish in which the curry is cooked, rather than from any specific ingredient or cooking technique. Balti curries are cooked quickly using vegetable oil rather than ghee, over high heat in the manner of a stir-fry, and any meat is used off the bone. This combination differs sharply from a traditional one-pot Indian curry which is simmered slowly all day. Balti sauce is based on garlic and onions, with turmeric and garam masala, among other spices.
Kamila Shamsie FRSL is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel Home Fire (2017). Named on Granta magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has been described by The New Indian Express as "a novelist to reckon with and to look forward to." She also writes for publications including The Guardian, New Statesman, Index on Censorship and Prospect, and broadcasts on radio.
The Curry Mile is a nickname for the part of Wilmslow Road running through the centre of Rusholme in south Manchester, England. The name is earned from the large number of restaurants, takeaways and kebab houses specialising in the cuisines of South Asia and the Middle East, thought to be the largest concentration of South Asian restaurants in the United Kingdom. The Curry Mile is notable for its streets being busy into the early hours of the morning. The area is frequently visited by local students, because of its location near the Oxford Road and Fallowfield Campuses of the University of Manchester, Xaverian College and the Oxford Road/All Saints campus of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Leila Fuad Aboulela is a fiction writer, essayist, and playwright of Sudanese origin based in Aberdeen, Scotland. She grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and moved to Scotland in 1990 where she began her literary career. Until 2023, Aboulela has published six novels and several short stories, which have been translated into fifteen languages. Her most popular novels, Minaret (2005) and The Translator (1999) both feature the stories of Muslim women in the UK and were longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and Orange Prize. Aboulela's works have been included in publications such as Harper's Magazine, Granta, The Washington Post and The Guardian. BBC Radio has adapted her work extensively and broadcast a number of her plays, including The Insider, The Mystic Life and the historical drama The Lion of Chechnya. The five-part radio serialization of her 1999 novel The Translator was short-listed for the Race In the Media Award (RIMA).
Mohammed Afzal Khan, is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester Rusholme since the 2024 general election. He previously served as the MP for Manchester Gorton from 2017 until 2024.
Islam in England is the second largest religion after Christianity. Most Muslims are immigrants from South Asia or descendants of immigrants from that region. Many others are from Muslim-dominated regions such as the Middle East, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Somalia, and other parts of African countries such as Nigeria, Uganda and Sierra Leone. There are also many White Muslims in the country, of which most have Slavic and Balkan backgrounds, as well as some ethnic English converts.
Jagannathpur (Bengali: জগন্নাথপুর, is an upazila located in the northeast of the district of Sunamganj and in the middle of the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. It is bordered by Chhatak and Dakshin Sunamganj to the north, Bishwanath and Osmani Nagar to the east, Derai to the west, and Nabiganj to the south.
Aamer Hussein is a Pakistani critic and short story writer.
British Bangladeshis are people of Bangladeshi origin who have attained citizenship in the United Kingdom, through immigration and historical naturalisation. The term can also refer to their descendants. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with most originating from the Sylhet Division. The largest concentration live in east London boroughs, such as Tower Hamlets. This large diaspora in London leads people in Sylhet to refer to British Bangladeshis as Londoni.
The Curry Mile is a 2006 novel written by Manchester-based British Pakistani novelist, Zahid Hussain. The debut novel was also the first book published by Suitcase Press. The book is set on Wilmslow Road, also known as the Curry Mile, in the Rusholme area of Manchester. The novel is a piece of urban realism written in dual narrative. It charts the life of a Pakistani family in the restaurant trade.
Qaisra Shahraz is a British-Pakistani novelist and scriptwriter.
John Siddique is a spiritual teacher, poet, and author.
Muslim Writers Awards is an annual British award ceremony, which aims to recognise, showcase and celebrate literary talent within the UK's Muslim community. It was established in 2006, with the Young Muslim Award category established in 2010.
Bengali Muslims are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ethnic group among Muslims after Arabs. Bengali Muslims make up the majority of Bangladesh's citizens, and are the largest minority in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam.
British Pakistanis are Britons or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots lie in Pakistan. This includes people born in the UK who are of Pakistani descent, Pakistani-born people who have migrated to the UK and those of Pakistani origin from overseas who migrated to the UK.
Khalida Hussain was a Pakistani fiction writer and novelist of Urdu. She introduced a new trend in Urdu fiction writing, she mostly wrote stories on real life and was regarded as the best fiction writer in Pakistan after Intizar Hussain. Khalida's novel Kaghazi Ghat was her last novel in Urdu Literature.
British Pashtuns are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom who are of Pashtun ancestry. As of the 2021 census, there were at least 48,000 Pashto-speakers living in the UK. According to other estimates, the total population of British Pashtuns is as high as 100,000, making them the largest Pashtun diaspora community in Europe.