Enter to win the 'Letters to a Writer of Color' Anthology 📚
A little thank you for being a Foreign Bodies subscriber
It’s been so long since I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a book with you all. And this time, it’ll be new to me too! Letters to a Writer of Color is a recently published collection of essays edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro featuring work from an international array of writers of color like Madeleine Thien, Tiphanie Yanique, Kiese Laymon, Myriam Gurba, Xiaolu Guo and more. Thanks to a generous Sustaining Member who wants to remain anonymous because they hate attention (you know who you are!), I have THREE beautiful copies of the anthology to gift. Entries for this giveaway will be accepted through 8 p.m. EST Friday, March 24.
PSA: This giveaway is open to all sign-ups. Each entry for paying subscribers or those with comps (gifted subscriptions) count TWICE. If you’re interested in subscribing but haven’t yet—click here!
About Letters to a Writer of Color
From Penguin Random House:
“Electric essays that speak to the experience of writing from the periphery . . . a guide, a comfort, and a call all at once.” — Laila Lalami, author of Conditional Citizens
Filled with empathy and wisdom, instruction and inspiration, this book encourages us to reevaluate the codes and conventions that have shaped our assumptions about how fiction should be written, and also challenges us to apply its lessons to both what we read and how we read. Featuring:
• Taymour Soomro on resisting rigid stories about who you are
• Madeleine Thien on how writing builds the room in which it can exist
• Amitava Kumar on why authenticity isn’t a license we carry in our wallets
• Tahmima Anam on giving herself permission to be funny
• Ingrid Rojas Contreras on the bodily challenge of writing about trauma
• Zeyn Joukhadar on queering English and the power of refusing to translate ourselves
• Myriam Gurba on the empowering circle of Latina writers she works within
• Kiese Laymon on hearing that no one wants to read the story that you want to write
• Mohammed Hanif on the censorship he experienced at the hands of political authorities
• Deepa Anappara on writing even through conditions that impede the creation of art
• Plus essays from Tiphanie Yanique, Xiaolu Guo, Jamil Jan Kochai, Vida Cruz-Borja, Femi Kayode, Nadifa Mohamed in conversation with Leila Aboulela, and Sharlene Teo
The start of a more inclusive conversation about storytelling, Letters to a Writer of Color will be a touchstone for aspiring and working writers and for curious readers everywhere.
Giveaway rules
Entrants must be signed up to the Foreign Bodies Newsletter and must have a valid mailing address. Paying subscriber and gift recipient entries count twice; free sign-ups count as single entries. International applicants welcome for this giveaway. You may only enter once and must use the email address affiliated with your account. Each entry will be assigned a number and winner(s) will be chosen using the Random Integer Generator. Winner(s) will be notified via email and your gift will come personally packaged in the mail with Foreign Bodies swag. If you win, you’ll receive an email to confirm your mailing address. Shipment tracking included.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please email 4nbodies@gmail.com.
Recommend a book!
Have a favorite immigrant-written book, collection of essays or poetry or what-have-you? Stories that made you feel understood? Stories about immigrant or refugee experiences, about mental illness? Send your recommendations—especially if it’s your own work.
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Want your book or collection to be part of a Foreign Bodies giveaway? Just fill out this form and we’ll consider your work! It’s only me here, so if it takes a while for me to get back to you, please give me grace!