Ayisha Malik & Jane Harris, Edinburgh – SOLD OUT

The Other Half of Happiness by Ayisha Malik

The Author

Ayisha Malik holds a BA in English Literature and Sociology, and a First Class MA in Creative Writing. She worked at Penguin Random House before moving to Cornerstones where she was managing editor for five years. Her debut novel, Sofia Khan is Not Obliged (Twenty7), was met with great critical acclaim and was a WHSmith Fresh Talent pick in 2016. The sequel, The Other Half of Happiness (Zaffre), was published April 2017.

Ayisha is also the ghost writer for Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain’s book, The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters (Harlequin). She is now a full-time writer and is working on her third novel, as well as Nadiya’s second book.

You can follow her on Twitter @Ayisha_Malik.

Praise for Ayisha Malik

Malik is great at making you laugh one minute and the breaking your heart the next, and this is a relatable story for anyone who has ever struggled to find their way in the world and who knows that there’s life on the other side of happily ever after. Stylist Magazine

The Book

Sofia Khan is just married. But no one told her life was going to be this way. Her living situation is in dire straits, her husband Conall is distant, and his annoyingly attractive colleague is ringing all sorts of alarm bells. When her mother forces them into a belated wedding ceremony (elopement: you can run, but you can’t hide), Sofia wonders if it might be a chance to bring them together. But when it forces Conall to confess his darkest secret, it might just tear them apart. A book to make you smile, laugh, and cry, this is the story of a mixed-race marriage and a mixed-up family, for anyone who’s ever struggled to balance their pride with their principles, or stuck around to try to mend a broken heart.

Sugar Money by Jane Harris

The Author

Jane Harris was born in Belfast and brought up in Glasgow. She is the Orange Prize-shortlisted author of The Observations (2007) and Gillespie & I (2011). Before turning to novels, she was an award-winning script writer, and was twice nominated for BAFTAs for Bait (1999) and Going Down (2000) and was twice shortlisted for the BBC’s Dennis Potter Award.  She taught Creative Writing for many years, principally at the University of East Anglia and was once a writer-in-residence at HM Prison Durham. She currently lives in East London.

Praise for Jane Harris

Jane Harris is a magnificent writer, and she grabs the Gothic tradition with fierceness.  Orange Prize Project

The Book

Martinique, 1765.  Brothers Emile and Lucien are charged by their French master, Father Cleophas, with a mission. They must return to Grenada, the island they once called home, and smuggle back the 42 slaves claimed by English invaders at the hospital plantation in Fort Royal. While Lucien, barely in his teens, sees the trip as a great adventure, the older and worldlier Emile has no illusions about the dangers they will face. But with no choice other than to obey Cleophas – and sensing the possibility, however remote, of finding his first love Celeste – he sets out with his brother on this ‘reckless venture’.

With great characters, a superb narrative set up, and language that is witty, bawdy and thrillingly alive, Sugar Money is a novel to treasure.

Bookings

If you would like tickets for a Gliterary Lunch, simply download and print off this form for completion and post it out with a cheque made payable to Gliterary Lunches or to pay online, please request an invoice. Confirmation of your booking will be sent out to you along with information about the menu, table planning and how to pre-order wine and books if required.

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