This event is part of the Yorkshire Festival of Story.
What if a novel could open a door to the struggles and resilience of entire communities?
In An Abundance of Wild Roses, critically acclaimed author and activist Feryal Ali-Gauhar takes us deep into Pakistan’s Black Mountains, where gender violence, environmental destruction, and the clash between tradition and progress unfold in a story as urgent as it is impactful.
Drawing on four decades of work with marginalised communities and women subjected to violence, and her experience as a former UN Goodwill Ambassador, Ali-Gauhar writes with rare authority and empathy. Supported by the Roger Deakin Award for environmental activism, her novel is more than fiction: it is a call to witness, to question, and to care.
In this intimate conversation, discover how personal experience fuels powerful storytelling, how literature can bridge worlds, and how a single book can challenge perspectives, stir empathy, and spark real social change.
