Susheila Nasta

Susheila Nasta was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2019.

Susheila Nasta MBE is Founding Editor of Wasafiri, the Magazine of International Contemporary Writing she launched in 1984. Since its inception, the magazine has championed new writing, consistently highlighting Britain’s diverse cultural heritage and extending the boundaries of literary culture. Recognised for its promotion of the early works of some of the world’s now most distinguished writers, Wasafiri celebrates its 35^th anniversary in 2019 and its 100^th issue. Judge of a number of literary prizes and director of a number of public engagement projects, she has published widely; especially on the Caribbean, South Asian diaspora and black Britain. Recent books include: Home Truths: Fictions of the South Asian Diaspora in Britain (2002), Writing Across Worlds: Contemporary Writers Talk (2004), India in Britain (2012), Asian Britain: A Photographic History (2013) and the co-editing of the first major literary and cultural history of Black and Asian British Writing (CUP 2019). She is at present compiling an essay anthology Brave New Words: The Power of Writing Now (Myriad Books) marking Wasafiri’s 35^th anniversary and completing a group biography, The Bloomsbury Indians. A literary activist, she has worked as an academic in a number of institutional contexts. She is currently Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literatures at Queen Mary College, University of London where Wasafiri is now based. She received an MBE for her services to black and Asian literature in 2011.