Highlights from the Silk Road Lit Fest
and my full, full heart.
Hello and Salaams,
I’m still riding the high of a wonderful day at the Silk Road Institute’s Literary Festival held in Toronto this past Saturday. The other post I had planned will have to wait because I’d much rather share the Lit Fest with you all.
To be in attendance as a group of writers whose work I enjoy, as a group of writers who I admire, speak to their process and their words, was generative and inspiring.
For most of these writers to be Muslims or Muslim allies enveloped me a blanket of warmth and safety, while still challenging me with their brilliance, wit and ideas.
The Silk Road Institute is the heart child of my husband, Mohamed. I say heart child because brainchild isn’t sufficient.
I remember Mohamed sharing his idea over 10 years ago. We were living a two bedroom apartment in Montreal’s Ville Saint Laurent. D was still a baby. The memory comes back as if it belongs to another lifetime.
Mohamed wanted to create an organization to explore arts and culture, to highlight Muslim voices in a world that prefers to speak over us. It felt monumental. Too big to even tackle.
He is the institution builder. The visionary. I feel deeply while he imagines futures I cannot see.
To be standing in that future, to be standing in the fruits of that imagination, after years of hard work and building, is a reward beyond measure. I am a proud wifey today, but I enjoyed the event less as a wife, and more as a writer and reader. I can’t believe we have this space now. I feel so lucky.
Here’s to next year.
I wish you all could have been there in person. In the meantime, I’m sharing some pics and video from the day. The conversations that racialized artists can have when the space is welcoming and safe is golden. The words are medicine.
Omar El Akkad, award-winning author of the novels American War and What Strange Paradise discussing his upcoming book, One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, and how it came to be, with Silk Road Institute Founder and Artistic Director Mohamed Shaheen:
, author of Son of Elsewhere, sharing his love of essays and a publishing secret with trailblazing journalist Ginella Massa.
Uzma Jalaluddin, (Hi, Uzma!) author of Ayesha At Last, Hanna Khan Carries On, and Much Ado about Nada, explaining the marketing decisions that go into categorizing your books with poet Sana Wanni.
Catherine Hernandez, author of Scarborough and Behind You, sharing a hilarious story that became her writing method with small children, to Uzma Jalaluddin.
If you’re looking for more BIPOC spaces on Substack, I encourage you to check out
, an unofficial BIPOC writing community. If you’re looking for BIPOC writing, publishes Unlocked, a monthly curated list of writing from BIPOC writers on Substack. I was honoured to curate the most recent issue, edited by my friends and , with writing from , , , , , and .
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Let’s chat in the comments!
Which clip stood out the most for you?
Have you read any of the authors at the Silk Road Lit Fest? Did you sob hysterically through What Strange Paradise? Tell me what you thought below!
Ok so I knew you were a powerhouse but this is your husband???? POWER COUPLE GOALS UNLOCKED, FOR THE CULTURE AND BEYOND ❤️
Wow! Congratulations to you and your husband, Noha. The event sounds glorious and the joy is palpable reading your highlights. Thank you for sharing the videos and inviting us to explore some new writers. I am unfamiliar with their names and am anxious to get to know them more. Thank you!