Abda Khan's guest appearances

Abda Khan

Harriet Minter Presents: Badass Women’s Hour

Birmingham Lit Fest Presents….

Candice Brathwaite

Sam Baker

Sue Nelson

London Hughes

Jason Brown

Michelle Collins

Dorothy Koomson

Rose McGowan

Emma Kennedy

Cindy Gallop

Sarah Akwisombe

Kate Winslet

Amy Webb

Gemma Cairney

Bryony Gordon

OwlTail

The Birmingham Literature Festival podcast connects writers with readers. Join us for exciting and inspiring conversations about writing, poetry, big ideas and social issues with writers from the Midlands and beyond. New episodes monthly from April 2021.Episode 2: February, Abda KhanA year after the last full month of ‘normality’ for us all in February 2020, novelist and lawyer Abda Khan reflects on how a year of Covid-19 restrictions has impacted her and how much our lives have changed in hundreds of ways, from the major to the insignificant, since then. Take a look at the rest of this year's digital programme on our website: https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/.For more information on Writing West Midlands, visit https://writingwestmidlands.org/Follow the festival on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @BhamLitFestCreditsCurator: Shantel Edwards (Festival director)Production: 11C/ Birmingham Podcast Studios for Writing West MidlandsTRANSCRIPTBLF Newsletter Podcast Transcript: Episode 2, Abda KhanIntroWelcome to the Birmingham Lit Fest Presents…podcast and our new series of commissioned writing about 2021. Each month we are commissioning a new writer to reflect on the month that has passed, offering us moments of connection through great writing and the opportunity to reflect about what we have collectively experienced at the end of the year. We will be bringing you a new short episode at the start of each month, with each piece read by our guest writers. You can read the pieces on our website, where you will also find information about our upcoming digital events.ReadingHello, my name is Abda Khan and here is a blog I wrote for Birmingham Literature Festival in February 2021.When I was asked to write about how February has been for me, I started by looking back at photos from the same time last year. It struck me that during the almost yearlong state of lockdown, not only has life changed in ways previously unimaginable, but certain phrases have evaporated from our vocabulary, whilst others have taken hold. As a writer, I am intrigued by this.February 2020; kicked off at a packed restaurant for a family birthday, I gave a talk about my Sidelines to Centre Stage Project at Wolverhampton Literature Festival where I mingled with attendees over tea and samosas, travelled to Glasgow and sat in a mosque full of hundreds of mourners after the death of my uncle, went into Tamworth Radio to talk about my novel Razia with three of us crammed into an airless studio smaller than a boxroom, had lunch with and gave a talk at Solihull Rotary Club, visited mac at Cannon Hill Park for discussions over coffee about a forthcoming project. And there were many more everyday happenings, not documented by the click of a phone camera, all of which are now unthinkable; legal work at the office where multiple clients would attend together, meeting friends in overcrowded coffee shops, enjoying the pictures with my kids (although they tell me that firstly, no one says ‘pictures’ anymore and secondly, as the youngest is now nearly 16, they’re no longer kids). Now, life is Zoom, and Teams, hand sanitiser, and face masks, and everyone knows what WFH means. The most exhilarating activity is my weekly click and collect trip to Asda. Hands, face, space - now, we must all “look like letter boxes”, and the PM must think it peculiar how words come back to bite you.No more does anyone ask “what are your plans for the weekend?” or “where are you going for your holiday?” No longer are we faced with dilemmas such as “how do I get out of that works do?”, nor does anyone wish “this dinner party would end.” The loneliness that comes with being a writer has not changed. It is a solitary pursuit, often undertaken late into the night with only silence for company. Yet, other aspects of my life as a writer have disappeared, and these I miss; interacting at events face to face, being part of the buzz and chatter that can’t be replicated in a Zoom call (which always starts with “you’re on mute”). Still, technology has been a godsend; I have continued with book club, delivered numerous talks, attended courses, taught courses, persisted with my yoga, been to parents evening, hosted a poetry event, and watched every single episode of Spooks.Having had a nasty run in with COVID myself, I feel fortunate to be alive, to have the hope that at least February 2022 will look more like my February 2020, and that the period of lockdown in between the two will eventually seem like that experience in your life which you hated every minute of, but one from which you learnt a great deal.OutroThank you for listening to this week’s episode of the Birmingham Lit Fest presents…podcast. Follow us on Instagram, twitter and facebook @bhamlitfest. All information about the festival and upcoming events can be found on our website www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org. The Birmingham Lit Fest Presents... podcast is produced by 11C and Birmingham Podcast Studios for Writing West Midlands.

The Birmingham Literature Festival podcast connects writers with readers. Join us for exciting and inspiring conversations about writing, poetry, big ideas and social issues with writers from the Midlands and beyond. New episodes monthly from April 2021.<ul><li>Episode 2: February, Abda Khan</li></ul> A year after the last full month of ‘normality’ for us all in February 2020, novelist and lawyer Abda Khan reflects on how a year of Covid-19 restrictions has impacted her and how much our lives have changed in hundreds of ways, from the major to the insignificant, since then.  Take a look at the rest of this year's digital programme on our website: <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/</a>. For more information on Writing West Midlands, visit <a href="https://writingwestmidlands.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://writingwestmidlands.org/</a>Follow the festival on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @BhamLitFestCreditsCurator: Shantel Edwards (Festival director) Production: 11C/ Birmingham Podcast Studios for Writing West MidlandsTRANSCRIPTBLF Newsletter Podcast Transcript: Episode 2, Abda Khan Intro Welcome to the <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Birmingham Lit Fest Presents…</a>podcast and our new series of commissioned writing about 2021. Each month we are commissioning a new writer to reflect on the month that has passed, offering us moments of connection through great writing and the opportunity to reflect about what we have collectively experienced at the end of the year.  We will be bringing you a new short episode at the start of each month, with each piece read by our guest writers. You can <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/blog-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read the pieces on our website</a>, where you will also find information about our <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/all-events" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">upcoming digital events</a>. Reading Hello, my name is <a href="https://abdakhan5.webnode.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Abda Khan</a> and here is a blog I wrote for Birmingham Literature Festival in <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/blog-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">February 2021</a>. When I was asked to write about how February has been for me, I started by looking back at photos from the same time last year. It struck me that during the almost yearlong state of lockdown, not only has life changed in ways previously unimaginable, but certain phrases have evaporated from our vocabulary, whilst others have taken hold. As a writer, I am intrigued by this. February 2020; kicked off at a packed restaurant for a family birthday, I gave a talk about my Sidelines to Centre Stage Project at Wolverhampton Literature Festival where I mingled with attendees over tea and samosas, travelled to Glasgow and sat in a mosque full of hundreds of mourners after the death of my uncle, went into Tamworth Radio to talk about my novel Razia with three of us crammed into an airless studio smaller than a boxroom, had lunch with and gave a talk at Solihull Rotary Club, visited mac at Cannon Hill Park for discussions over coffee about a forthcoming project. And there were many more everyday happenings, not documented by the click of a phone camera, all of which are now unthinkable; legal work at the office where multiple clients would attend together, meeting friends in overcrowded coffee shops, enjoying the pictures with my kids (although they tell me that firstly, no one says ‘pictures’ anymore and secondly, as the youngest is now nearly 16, they’re no longer kids).  Now, life is Zoom, and Teams, hand sanitiser, and face masks, and everyone knows what WFH means. The most exhilarating activity is my weekly click and collect trip to Asda. Hands, face, space - now, we must all “look like letter boxes”, and the PM must think it peculiar how words come back to bite you. No more does anyone ask “what are your plans for the weekend?” or “where are you going for your holiday?” No longer are we faced with dilemmas such as “how do I get out of that works do?”, nor does anyone wish “this dinner party would end.”  The loneliness that comes with being a writer has not changed. It is a solitary pursuit, often undertaken late into the night with only silence for company. Yet, other aspects of my life as a writer have disappeared, and these I miss; interacting at events face to face, being part of the buzz and chatter that can’t be replicated in a Zoom call (which always starts with “you’re on mute”). Still, technology has been a godsend; I have continued with book club, delivered numerous talks, attended courses, taught courses, persisted with my yoga, been to parents evening, hosted a poetry event, and watched every single episode of Spooks. Having had a nasty run in with COVID myself, I feel fortunate to be alive, to have the hope that at least February 2022 will look more like my February 2020, and that the period of lockdown in between the two will eventually seem like that experience in your life which you hated every minute of, but one from which you learnt a great deal. OutroThank you for listening to this week’s episode of the <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Birmingham Lit Fest presents…podcast</a>. Follow us on Instagram, twitter and facebook @bhamlitfest. All information about the festival and upcoming events can be found on our website <a href="http://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org</a>. The <a href="https://www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org/podcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Birmingham Lit Fest Presents...</a> podcast is produced by 11C and Birmingham Podcast Studios for Writing West Midlands.

February, Abda Khan

Anita Asante

There are 13,000 slaves in the UK and 48million slaves in the world right now, what are the signs of Modern slavery and how can we spot them.Harriet is joined this week by Carrie Grant who is sitting in as Natalie and Emma take time off over the summer.The ladies are joined by Lawyer and Writer Abda Khan are they are discussing her new book “Razia” in which the main character thanks she has encountered a victim of a Modern Slavery and Domestic Violence, we follow her as she tries to uncover this injustice.Abda is explaining to Harriet and Carrie what modern slavery looks like, the different forms it can take and how you can recognise the signs and why it’s so hidden even today.Abda says her first novel “Stained” helped many women to “rise above” the abuse they had experienced and report it to Police, she talks about how she has used the tool of fiction writing to expose issues that she comes across in her career as a lawyer and other topics she would like to tackle next.And we get a final fix of the Women’s World Cup from Anita Asante Pro player for Chelsea and England, she is debriefing the ladies on the response to this years world cup and the effect it will have on Women’s Football She shares how she started playing football as a kid and her journey to becoming Pro and how she has found being a woman in what is typically a “mans game” And Harriet and Carrie learn about the Adobe Stock campaign which is aiming to empower young women to join in the game by creating images of female football stars to be used in the media that young women can relate to and be inspired by.For information on all your hosts you can click on their names:Harriet MinterNatalie CampbellEmma Sexton If you want to get in touch you can find us on all the socials under this name: @badasswomenshrAnd for more about the podcast head here: https://www.badasswomenshour.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are 13,000 slaves in the UK and 48million slaves in the world right now, what are the signs of Modern slavery and how can we spot them.Harriet is joined this week by Carrie Grant who is sitting in as Natalie and Emma take time off over the summer.The ladies are joined by Lawyer and Writer <a href="https://twitter.com/abdakhan5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Abda Khan</a> are they are discussing her new book “Razia” in which the main character thanks she has encountered a victim of a Modern Slavery and Domestic Violence, we follow her as she tries to uncover this injustice.Abda is explaining to Harriet and Carrie what modern slavery looks like, the different forms it can take and how you can recognise the signs and why it’s so hidden even today.Abda says her first novel “Stained” helped many women to “rise above” the abuse they had experienced and report it to Police, she talks about how she has used the tool of fiction writing to expose issues that she comes across in her career as a lawyer and other topics she would like to tackle next. And we get a final fix of the Women’s World Cup from <a href="https://twitter.com/NicenNeetz" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anita Asante</a> Pro player for Chelsea and England, she is debriefing the ladies on the response to this years world cup and the effect it will have on Women’s Football She shares how she started playing football as a kid and her journey to becoming Pro and how she has found being a woman in what is typically a “mans game” And Harriet and Carrie learn about the Adobe Stock campaign which is aiming to empower young women to join in the game by creating images of female football stars to be used in the media that young women can relate to and be inspired by.For information on all your hosts you can click on their names:<a href="http://harrietminter.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Harriet Minter</a><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/natdcampbell/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Natalie Campbell</a><a href="http://www.emmasexton.com/#my-story" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Emma Sexton</a> If you want to get in touch you can find us on all the socials under this name:<a href="https://twitter.com/badasswomenshr?lang=en" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> @badasswomenshr</a>And for more about the podcast head here:<a href="https://www.badasswomenshour.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://www.badasswomenshour.com</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Ep 269: The Secrets Of Modern Slavery with Abda Khan and Anita Asante