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DSC South Asian Literature Festival 15 - 24 October 2010
Britain's first major festival celebrating South Asian literature takes place in London from 15 - 24 October 2010. The festival, sponsored by Indian infrastructure company DSC, is dedicated to showcasing the rich and varied cultures of the South Asian subcontinent and will be featuring a cast of well-known personalities from the worlds of literature, journalism and performing arts. read more

Pakistan: A Corona Burst of Talent, 15 September 2010
Join Asia House, Granta and Green Cardamom on Wednesday 15th September 2010 for a panel discussion on the literature and contemporary art of Pakistan with authors Daniyal Mueenuddin and Nadeem Aslam. With almost 200 million people speaking nearly sixty languages, conceived under the auspices of a single religion, Pakistan is one of the most dynamic places in the world. It is also at the forefront of a cultural renaissance. read more

The Lament of the Dhobi Woman by Karen Roberts, Out 15 July 2010
Seelawathi, a young village girl is brought to the city to care for Cat, the daughter of a prominent Colombo family. With her parents involved with each other and their active social life, Cat soon comes to regard Seelawathi as her parent and best friend. They build their own happy microcosmic life within the large household, and are relatively content until Seelawathi falls in love. The Lament of the Dhobi Woman explores the issue of class in Colombo society. read more

Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph, Out 8 July 2010
Feted for its electric chaos, the city of Bombay also accommodates pockets of calm. In one such enclave, Mohan, a middle-aged letter writer - the last of a dying profession - sits under a banyan tree in Fort, furnishing missives for village migrants anddisenchanted lovers. But Mohan's true passion is collecting second-hand books. So when the pavement booksellers of Fort are summarily evicted, Mohan's life starts to lose some of its lustre. read more

Trespassing by Uzma Aslam Khan, (Re-issue Edition) - Out 8 July 2010
A world-class tale of love and deceit, rivalry and destiny from the Lahore-based writer Uzma Aslam Khan. Dia is the daughter of a silk farmer, Riffat – an innovative, decisive businesswoman. Like her mother, Dia seems at first sight unrestricted, spirited and resourceful. She seems free. But freedom has its own borders, patrolled by the covetous and the zealous, and there are those who yearn to jump the fence. read more

'We are a Muslim, Please' By Zaiba Malik, Out 1 July 2010
For Zaiba Malik, growing up in Bradford in the '70s and '80s certainly has its moments - staying up all night during Ramadan with her father; watching mad Mr Aziz searching for his goat during Eid; dancing along to Top of the Pops (so long as no-one's watching). And, of course, there's her mother - whether she's writing another ingratiating letter to the Queen or referring to Tom Jones as 'Thumb Jone'. But Zaiba's story is also one of anxiety and seemingly irreconcilable opposites. read more

Secrets and Sins by Jaishree Misra, Out 24 June 2010
Fifteen years ago, Riva Singh and Aman Khan had a passionate love affair. Despite their attraction, Riva rejected Aman for reliable Ben, the man who became her husband. Now, Riva is a bestselling London novelist, whilst Aman is a Bollywood superstar. Both have watched each other from afar but have stayed apart since their painful split. But Fate appears to have other plans for them. read more

The Wish Maker by Ali Sethi, Out 24 June 2010
Zaki has returned home to Pakistan . . . His childhood friend and cousin Samar is getting married, and he's come to wish her happiness for the future. But returning to the family home in Lahore - crammed as it is with relatives - Zaki is confronted vividly with the past that has shaped not only his and his cousin's lives, but also those of his extended family. The Wishmaker is an epic that stretches back into the past of a troubled family. read more

The Obscure Logic of the Heart by Priya Basil, Out 10 June 2010
A devoted daughter; a secret love; an impossible dilemma...Lina has always been the apple of her father's strict eye. When she meets Anil, a wealthy, cultured and decidedly liberal student of architecture from Kenya's Asian community, the intensity of her feelings for someone so different takes her by surprise. She is political and he is not; she is of modest background and he is not; she is a Muslim and he is not. read more

Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, Out 7 June 2010
A Buddhist monk takes up arms to resist the Chinese invasion of Tibet - then spends the rest of his life trying to atone for the violence by hand printing the best prayer flags in India. A Jain nun tests her powers of detachment as she watches her best friend ritually starve herself to death. Nine people, nine lives; each one taking a different religious path, each one an unforgettable story. William Dalrymple delves deep into the heart of a nation. read more

The Pleasure Seekers by Tishani Doshi, Out 17 May 2010
It all started in August 1968 when Babo, with curly hair and jhill mill teeth, became the first member of the Patel family to leave Madras and fly on a plane all the way to London to further his education. His father should have known there would be trouble: on the morning of the departure he had his first and only dream, in which strange ghosts threw poison-tipped arrows and all his family was lost. read more

The Japanese Lover by Rani Manicka, Out 13 May 2010
Parvathi leaves her native Ceylon for Malaya and an arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman. But her father has cheated, supplying a different girl's photograph, and Kasu Marimuthu, furious, threatens to send her home in disgrace. Gradually husband and wife reach an accommodation, and the naïve young girl learns to assume the air of sophisticated mistress of a luxurious estate. read more

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna, Out 29 April 2010
The year is 1878. As the first girl to be born to the Nachimandas in over sixty years, beautiful, spirited Devi is adored by her entire family. She befriends Devanna, a gifted young boy whose mother has died in tragic circumstances. The two quickly become inseparable, 'like two eggs in a nest', as they grow up amidst the luscious jungles, rolling hills and coffee plantations of Coorg in Southern India. read more

The Swimmer by Roma Tearne, Out 29 April 2010
A gripping novel about love, loss and what home really means. Forty-three year old Ria is used to being alone. As a child, her life changed forever with the death of her beloved father and since then, she has struggled to find love.That is, until she discovers the swimmer. Ben is a young illegal immigrant from Sri Lanka who has arrived in Norfolk via Moscow. Awaiting a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application, he is discovered by Ria as he takes a daily swim in the river close to her house. read more

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddinn, Out 5 Apr 2010
The linked stories in 'In Other Rooms, Other Wonders' by Daniyal Mueenuddinn illuminate a place and a people as they describe the overlapping worlds of an extended Pakistani landowning family: the servants and dependents in Mr. K.K. Harouni's overflowing Lahore household, the peasants on his estates who rely on his favor, and the parallel world of his industrialist brother, who has distanced himself from the past. read more

Half Life by Roopa Farooki, Out 2 April 2010
Those were the words that finally persuaded Aruna to walk out of her East London flat in the middle of breakfast, wearing flimsy sandals on a brisk Spring day, carrying nothing more substantial than a handbag, and keep on walking. Leaving behind her marriage to Patrick, her adoring husband of less than a year, she gets on a plane to Singapore, running back home to the city and the old life she had run away from in the first place. read more

Songs of Blood and Sword by Fatima Bhutto, Out 1 April 2010
On September 1996, a fourteen-year-old Fatima Bhutto hid in a windowless dressing room, shielding her baby brother while shots rang out in the streets outside the family home in Karachi. This was the evening that her father Murtaza was murdered, along with six of his associates. In December 2007, Benazir Bhutto, Fatima's aunt, and the woman she had publically accused of ordering her father's murder, was assassinated in Rawalpindi. read more

Shadow Princess by Indu Sundaresan, Out 23 March 2010
In Shadow Princess, Indu Sundaresan picks up where she left off in 'The Twentieth Wife' and 'The Feast of Roses', returning to seventeenth-century India a few years after Mehrunnisa's death, as two royal princesses struggle for power. The daughters of the emperor, Jahangir and Roshanara, conspire and scheme against one another in an attempt to gain power over their father's harem. read more

Chef by Jaspreet Singh, Out 15 March 2010
Kirpal Singh is travelling on the slow train to Kashmir. As India passes by the window in a stream of tiny lights, glistening fields and huddled, noisy towns, he reflects on his destination, which is also his past: a military camp to which he has not returned for fourteen years. Kirpal, Kip to his friends, is timorous and barely twenty when he arrives for the first time at General Kumar's camp, nestled in the shadow of the mighty Siachen Glacier that claimed his father's life. read more

India takes the 'Global Reads' Poll by Storm
A host of Indian inspired books and writers are in the running to become the UK’s favourite Global Read. 'Swami and Friends' and 'Malgudi Days' by R.K Narayan, 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy, 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga, 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert and 'A Passage to India' by E.M Forster are currently riding high in the top 30, in an initiative set up to raise money for charity. read more

EDITOR'S HOT PICKS: BOOKS THAT WOULD MAKE GREAT FILMS
I was recently asked to list books, by South Asian Authors, which I thought would make great films. In typical fashion, this request has now become the subject of the latest article on 'Editor's Hot Picks'. I present you this list of 'Books that would make Great Films' as my personal favourites only. I have not chosen every great book that I have enjoyed, merely the ones that I believe can translate in cinematic success. read more

REDHOTCURRY.COM GUIDE TO THE BEST JEWELLERY BOOKS
Overview of the some of the hottest books on diamonds, gems, precious stones and the jewellery of Asia including 'Jewelry of South East Asia' by Ann Richter, 'Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals' by Manuel Keene, 'Christie's Guide to Jewellery' by Sarah Hue Williams and 'Great Diamonds of India' by Monisha Bhardwaj. read more

REDHOTCURRY.COM GUIDE TO THE BEST MEHNDI BOOKS
A comprehensive review of some of the most useful and practical Mehndi books available, ideal for novices and advanced artists alike. This review features: 'The Art of Mehndi' by Sumita Batra, 'Mehndi - The Timeless Art of Henna Painting' by Loretta Roome, 'Mehndi - Body Painting Kit' by Zaynab Mira, 'Henna Body Art' by Mark Smith, 'Mehndi' by Carine Fabius and 'Henna Body Painting' Sabine Kuhne. read more

BOLLYWOOD BOOKS
Read our overview of some of the hottest Bollywood Books, ranging from the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema by Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Bollyood - The Indian Cinema Story by Nasreen Munni Kabir, Bollywood Cinema by Vijay Mishra, Bollywood Pocket Essentials by Ashok Banker to Bollywood Boy by Justine Hardy and Balham to Bollywood by Chris England. read more

More Book News
Festival of Asian Literature: 5th - 27th May 2010 'India Inc' Book Launch, 21 January 2010 Kia Abdullah: Muslim Writer releases ultra-violent, sexual psychological crime thriller Daljit Nagra opens The National Poetry Competition 2009 Hanif's 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' wins Commonwealth Best First Book Prize Jhumpa Lahiri wins Commonwealth Writer's Prize 2009 (Europe & South Asia) 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga wins the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children is voted 'Best of the Bookers'