EXILED WRITERS INK PRESENTS EXILED LIT CAFE: 'MEET THE EXILED AUTHORS'

EXILED WRITERS INK PRESENTS THE JANUARY 2026 EXILED LIT CAFE

MEET THE AUTHORS: BRIAN CHIKWAVA, HASTIE SALIH, MANDANA HENDESSI

They will talk about their latest novels and read short extracts from them.

Brian Chikwava is author of Shamiso

Hastie Salih is author of The Cradle and The Cage

Mandana Hendessi is author of The Almond Garden of Kabul

They will be interviewed by writers Sana Nassari, Danielle Maisano and Rouhi Shafii.

Brian Chikwava is the author of Harare North (Jonathan Cape, 2009). He’s a past winner of the Caine Prize for African Short Fiction. His second novel, Shamiso, was published by Canongate in August 2025.

Dr Hastie Salih has published short stories, poems and two novels – Dahlia and Carys (2023) and The Cradle and the Cage (2025). Hastie is of Kurdish heritage from Sulaymaniyahand has lived in Wales, Germany, Belgium and London.Sheisa RCGP Fellow and a member of Doctors of the World, Jericho Writers, Royal Society of Literature, Exiled WritersInk and GLADD.

Mandana Hendessi is a writer and women's rights advocate whose debut novel, The Almond Garden of Kabul (Afsana Press, 2025), is inspired by her years working in Afghanistan, some of which were spent in women's prisons. Her fiction explores resilience, memory and silence as acts of resistance. She has also worked in Iraq and Syria, advancing gender equality in some of the world's fragile regions.

They will be interviewed by

Danielle Maisano Originally from Michigan, Danielle Maisano is a novelist, poet and journalist. Her debut novel, The Ardent Witness(2019)was an award-winning finalist for the 2019 International Book Awards fiction category.

Sana Nassariis a poet and literary translator recently featured in The Observer. She has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Brunel University, SOAS University, and with the Caine Prize, among others.

Rouhi Shafii is a social scientist and author.Her memoir isScent of Saffron, three generations of an Iranian family (Scarlet Press) while Pomegranate Hearts, is a historical love story in which 20th century Iran is reviewed.

Hosted by Dr Jennifer Langer, poet and founding director