Winners announced at Young Muslim Writers Awards Ceremony 2011

The second Young Muslim Writers Awards (YMWA) ceremony took place on Wednesday 1^st June at an afternoon ceremony held at London’s iconic Senate House. YMWA is part of the Muslim Writers Awards (MWA), now in its fifth year and is organised by one of the UK’s leading charities Muslim Hands, in association with the Institute of English Studies (University of London).

This ground-breaking initiative is supported by Puffin Books, Penguin Group, Booktrust and the Brit Writers’ Awards amongst others. This year’s panel of judges included authors Elizabeth Laird (award winning author of The Garbage King and Kiss the Dust), Leila Aboulela (author of Lyrics Alley) and Anna Perera (author of Guantanamo Boy and nominee of the Carnegie Medal), amongst others.

‘In every case it was easy to be moved by the ability of these young writers to tell a riveting tale and there are some lovely moments in all the stories,’ said Anna Perera. ‘I'm impressed by the believable characters, use of language and careful structure.’

An array of leading figures from the literary industry also celebrated the success of the young writers, with awards presented by writer Irfan Master (A Beautiful Lie, Bloomsbury), Senior Strategy Officer of the Arts Council England, Hassan Mahamdallie, and Professor Warwick Gould, Director of the Institute of English Studies, University of London.

Key note speakers at the afternoon ceremony included Sue Evans, Director of Development and Fundraising at Booktrust, and Nabil Ahmed, President of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, who presented an award on behalf of Muslim Community Fund, sponsors of the Young Muslim Writer of the Year Award 2011.

The afternoon ceremony was accompanied by exclusive live commissioned performances by renowned performance poets Wajid Hussain, Radikal Queen, Lubna Iqbal, David Byrne and drummer Shahbaz Ahmed, who has also performed alongside some of the biggest musical artists of the Asian subcontinent including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

YMWA organises a series of events over the year in partnership with publishers, authors, agents, Local Education Authorities, head-teachers and academics around the country. If you would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you.

Young Muslim Writers Awards 2011 Sponsors: Al Khair Foundation, Brit Writers' Awards, Creative Muslim Network, Institute of English Studies (University of London), Islam Channel, Muslim Community Network, Penguin Books and Puffin Books.

Young Muslim Writers Awards 2011 Shortlist

Poetry 5-7

 Hamza Memon – The Sear (Surrey)

 Zakareya Ahmad – The Sea (Surrey)

 Ayah Shakur – Be Kind (London)

 Amud Ahmed – My Appled (London)

 Maryam Mamum – Prophets (London)

 Ayan Muhammed – Two Little Angels (London)

 WINNER: Amud Ahmed - My Apples

Poetry 8—11

 Ayeesha Monks – Only Remains (Leeds)

 Mariam Tahir – A Brave Libyan Soldier (Manchester)

 Khadeejah Abdus-Samee – Runaway (Surrey)

 Sumaya Ali-Nur – Friendship (London)

 Adnan Iman – The Valley of Light (London)

WINNER: Ayeesha Monks - Only Remains

Poetry 11-14

Sideek Tawil – Endless Road (London)

Isse Ali – The Boy and the Thief (London)

Amir Alzarrad – Serene Hostilities (London)

Sarah Elawad – Your Mothers Letter to You (St. Albans)

Sadia Khanum – The Norm (Manchester)

WINNER: Sadia Khanum - The Norm

 Poetry 14-16

 Farjana Matin – Life in Book Form (London)

Khalid Nur – Long Live Somalia (London)

Ruhi Ur Rashid – Love No Moor (Coventry)

Razina Patel – Changes (London)

Amran Abdirahman – Whispers of Ascension, Murmurs of Descent (Manchester)

WINNER: Farjana Matin (Life in Book Form)

Short Story 5-7

 Liyana Glenn – The Step of a Thousand Cats (Morocco)

Abdullah Akmal – Same and the Giant (Birmingham)

Sufyaan Ali – My Not So Lost Rabbit (Coventry)

Mujaahid Arian – The Giant Sea Monster (Surrey)

Hafsah Deen – The Little Bird (Surrey)

Ibrahim Syed – Stone Soup (Surrey)

WINNER: Liyana Glenn (The Step of a Thousand Cats)

 Short Story 8-11

Tanveer Ahmed – The Choco Charm of Doom Tower (Manchester)

Ammaarah Karim – Prank (Nottingham)

Tahseen Yusuf – A Strange Love Story (Walsall)

Himnah Kibuka – Unexpected Moments (London)

WINNER: Tahseen Yusuf (A Strange Love Story)

 Short Story 11-14

Mariam Hussain – Have Faith (Bradford)

Amani Uddin – The Last Supper (Ilford)

Mohammad Adnan – Survival, A Lost Hope (London)

Omer Mohamed – Enticing the Vulture (London)

Alshimaa Elmasry – Thief (Plymouth)

WINNER: Mariam Hussain (Have Faith)

 Short Story 14-16

Jaasir Jabbar – The City of Dreams (London)

Tooba Malik – When the World Pushed You Down to Your knees, You’re in the Perfect Position to Pray (Peterborough)

Arzanish Mansha – The Night Queen! (Croydon)

Mahdi Ahmed – My Path (London)

Nadia Ali – The Pretence of Hate (London)

Sharmin Akhtar – Who Am I? (Wednesbury)

WINNER: Tooba Malik (When the World Pushes you Down to Your Knees, You’re in the Perfect Position to Pray)

YOUNG MUSLIM WRITER OF THE YEAR: Sadia Khanum (The Norm)