From Marginal to Universal: Authentically Portraying and Projecting Voices from the Margin
Panel Moniza Hossain, Namita Moolani Mehra, Sabrina Shah
Three published children’s book authors, Namita Moolani Mehra, Moniza Hossain, and Sabrina Shah of Indian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani heritage respectively, share their experience writing stories from deep within their culture, while working closely with global publishing houses and editors and most importantly targeting readers around the globe and across all cultures.
diversity cultural representation writing diversity representation
Moniza Hossain (Singapore)
Moniza Hossain is a Singaporean author of Bengali descent who writes children’s books inspired by her South Asian heritage. She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from the National University of Singapore, and a Masters in English Literature from King’s College London. Her debut picture book, Ritu in The Sun, is being published by Random House Children’s Books. Her short story The Mermaid’s Sister is featured in the anthology Being Ace, which is a finalist in the 2024 Lambda Literary Awards.
Namita Moolani Mehra (Singapore)
Namita Moolani Mehra is the author of Veena & The Red Roti, Superfoods for Superheroes, Anni Dreams of Biryani, The Light within You, and The Magic Spicebox. She is also the founder of Indian Spicebox, a social impact business with a mission to help fund meals for underprivileged children. Namita grew up in Nigeria, England, and India, studied at Northwestern University, and worked in New York for over a decade. She now lives in Singapore with her husband and children.
Sabrina Shah (UK/Singapore)
Sabrina Shah is a British Pakistani author who writes across children’s book genres. With a degree in Media practice, screenwriting and over twelve years of experience working in the UK publishing houses, she now focuses on creating stories of her own. Her debut picture book Music of the Mountains is due to publish in April 2025 with Barefoot Books. Her middle-grade horror story won The Golden Egg Academy award in 2022 and was also a finalist in the 2024 WriteMentor Novel awards. She has also adapted works with Penguin Random House Children’s UK for the BBC Studios licence ‘HEY DUGGEE’.
Programme dates and times are subject to change.