Untold Narratives
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untold-narratives.bsky.social
Untold Narratives
@untold-narratives.bsky.social
A development programme for writers structurally marginalised by community or conflict.

Out now: My Dear Kabul
https://untold-narratives.org/
Pinned
On 7 July, @wwborders.bsky.social published A Chapan the Height of Noorjan, a short story by Paranda writer Zaheda, translated from Dari by Abdul Bacet. In this piece, a boy’s playful defiance collides with the weight of war, leaving a family forever changed.
wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
A Chapan the Height of Noorjan - Words Without Borders
In Zaheda’s story, a boy’s playful defiance collides with the weight of war, leaving a family forever changed.
wordswithoutborders.org
Cortina Butler, deputy director of arts at the British Council, joins Untold Narratives as chair of the board of directors.

www.thebookseller.com/news/untold-...
Untold Narratives appoints Cortina Butler as chair
Untold Narratives has appointed Cortina Butler, deputy director of arts at the British Council, as the new chair of its board.
www.thebookseller.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:50 PM
We’re hiring an Editorial and Partnerships Manager to join our team in London (hybrid). Learn more: bit.ly/47PDRhA
September 18, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Today marks four years since the Taliban re-took Kabul. It is also one year since the publication of My Dear Kabul (Coronet Books, 2024). Here’s a sample of how Afghan women writers described the events of that day and its aftermath. Buy the book: lnk.to/MyDearKabul
August 15, 2025 at 8:05 AM
The Bagri Foundation’s series, A Woman Hums: Women, Voice, Creativity, brings together women curators, artists, filmmakers and writers from across Asia and its diaspora.
www.stirworld.com/see-news-the...
The Bagri Samaya series celebrates and amplifies women’s voices
The Bagri Foundation’s series, A Woman Hums: Women, Voice, Creativity, brings together women curators, artists, filmmakers and writers from across Asia and its diaspora.
www.stirworld.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:42 PM
We’re hiring a Communications Manager to join our team in London (hybrid). Learn more: untold-narratives.org/opp.../commu...
July 31, 2025 at 2:18 PM
We’re hiring a Finance and Office Co-ordinator to join our team in London (hybrid), one day a week. Learn more:
untold-narratives.org/.../finance-...
July 31, 2025 at 2:17 PM
My Pen Is the Wing of a Bird, New Fiction by Afghan Women (MacLehosePress, 2022) has been published in South Korea by Pacho Publishing. Buy the English edition: bit.ly/4f12NUY
July 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
In Reading, We Resist, by Paranda writer Marie Bamyani, was published by The Markaz Review @markaz-review.bsky.social this month. Marie talks about the importance of the Paranda book club, where Afghan women writers select and discuss a variety of books. themarkaz.org/in-reading-w...
In Reading, We Resist
In Paranda, everyday activities like reading symbolize protest and resistance in homes, alleyways, and gatherings.
themarkaz.org
July 15, 2025 at 2:21 PM
On 7 July, @wwborders.bsky.social published A Chapan the Height of Noorjan, a short story by Paranda writer Zaheda, translated from Dari by Abdul Bacet. In this piece, a boy’s playful defiance collides with the weight of war, leaving a family forever changed.
wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
A Chapan the Height of Noorjan - Words Without Borders
In Zaheda’s story, a boy’s playful defiance collides with the weight of war, leaving a family forever changed.
wordswithoutborders.org
July 10, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Untold Narratives
📣 We're recruiting! English PEN is looking for a Campaigns Officer to join the team (full-time, permanent).

Application deadline: 10am BST, Monday 21 July 2025

Apply & share ⤵️
www.englishpen.org/jobs/vacancy...
Vacancy: Campaigns Officer - English PEN
www.englishpen.org
July 7, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Untold Narratives
Part of a series of writing by Afghan women, this story by Zaheda (tr. Abdul Bacet, produced in collaboration with @untold-narratives.bsky.social ) narrates the US invasion of Afghanistan through the eyes of a young boy. Read it on WWB: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
July 8, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Tongueless Speaker, a short story by Paranda writer Tamanna Easar, translated from Dari by Abdul Bacet, was published in @wwborders.bsky.social. The story follows a woman from Afghanistan as she attempts to adjust to her life in exile.
wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
Tongueless Speaker - Words Without Borders
A grieving Afghan refugee finds a place of comfort in Tamanna Easar's short story.
wordswithoutborders.org
July 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Bestselling British author Kate Mosse @katemossewriter.bsky.social joined Jane Garvey & Fi Glover on their radio show, Off Air. Kate talked about her letter exchange with Afghan writer, Parand. Listen below (13 June):
www.thetimes.com/podcasts/off...
Off Air with Jane & Fi
Fresh from their new Times Radio show Jane Garvey and Fi Glover keep the mics on, grab a cuppa and say what they really think – unencumbered and off air. If you want to contact the show to ask a quest...
www.thetimes.com
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Read a letter exchange between Paranda writer Parand and best-selling British author @katemossewriter.bsky.social published in The Sunday Times. The writers discuss their craft and the lives of women and girls in Afghanistan.
www.thetimes.com/article/5a3a...
The Taliban letters: one woman writes in freedom, the other in fear
The bestselling British author Kate Mosse shares her inspiring email exchange with a brave female writer living under Afghanistan’s brutal regime
www.thetimes.com
June 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Join Paranda writer Tamanna Easar on 24 June at Exiled Lit Cafe panel ‘Step into my Shoes’, exploring the conflicting sense of self in exile. Get tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exiled-wri...
EXILED WRITERS INK presents STEP INTO MY SHOES with 5 fantastic writers
This Exiled Lit Cafe confronts the question of identity then and now plus the conflicting sense of self in exile. Is exile transformative?
www.eventbrite.co.uk
June 17, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Untold Narratives
Developed in partnership with @‌untold-narratives.bsky.social‬ , this story by Farishta Salehi (tr. Abdul Bacet) narrates an unlikely but meaningful friendship between two women. Read it on WWB: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
June 12, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Join us at Brixton Library on 2 June to hear My Dear Kabul (Coronet, 2024) contributor Batool Haidari, co-translator Dr Negeen Kargar, and one of the book’s editors, Sunila Galappatti, talking about this collective diary by Afghan women writers. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/my-dear-ka...
My Dear Kabul: A Year in the Life of an Afghan Women's Writing Group
Twenty-one women writers in Afghanistan shared the day-to-day reality of life after the Taliban retook Afghanistan.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
May 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Untold Narratives
We are recruiting:

Programmes and Partnerships Manager London £29-30K, (FT/0.8) - to ensure the programme is delivered at a high level to existing and new schools.

Partnerships Officer £27-28K (PT, 0.6) - to research funders and schools.

Both roles close 27 May 2025.

firststory.org.uk/vacancies/
May 8, 2025 at 2:10 PM
With the International Booker Prize announcement on 20 May, we’re reading the shortlisted Heart Lamp (@andotherstories.bsky.social , 2025) by Banu Mushtaq.
May 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
We enjoyed the @britishlibrary.bsky.social launch of Knowledge Without Borders – a report on the library’s work with its global partners. blogs.bl.uk/living-knowl...
Knowledge without borders
Today marks the launch of our new international report Knowledge without borders: How we made a difference with our global partners in 2023/24 (PDF, 1.4mb). We hear from Marcie Hopkins, Director of In...
blogs.bl.uk
May 1, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Running on Time, a non-fiction piece by Paranda writer Nooria Fakhree Aryan, was published in Exiled Ink Magazine. Nooria’s story follows one day of her life in exile in Germany, in which she explores her relationship with time. Read (p39): www.exiledwriters.co.uk/wp-content/u...
April 29, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Tehran Book Fair Uncensored showcases a wide variety of books censored inside Iran, featuring Persian-language publishers Nogaam Books, aasoo, and more. The bookfair runs across Europe, and the US from 25 April to 13 June. Check the dates in your location: uncensoredbookcom.wordpress.com
نهمین نمایشگاه کتاب تهران، بدون سانسور
9th Uncensored Book Fair - 9e Salon du livre NON-Censuré
uncensoredbookcom.wordpress.com
April 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
My Dear Kabul (Coronet Books, 2024) contributor Rana Zurmaty will speak at Sydney Writers Festival on 22 May. The event is fully booked, but you can join the waiting list.
www.swf.org.au/program/seas...
Afghan Women's Words: My Dear Kabul
www.swf.org.au
April 15, 2025 at 11:24 AM
My Dear Kabul (Coronet Books, 2024) was highlighted by Elif Shafak, Turkish-British novelist and essayist, as one of the five reads that have inspired her writing.
inews.co.uk/culture/book...
Elif Shafak: The five emotional books that have shaped me
The author shares the powerful reads that have inspired her writing and left a lasting imprint on her heart
inews.co.uk
April 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Last weekend we attended Deptford Literary Festival by @spread-the-word.bsky.social featuring 70 local writers, artists and performers. Get the anthology:

www.spreadtheword.org.uk/projects/dep...
April 3, 2025 at 9:18 AM