On Better Words this week: Huma Qureshi
Why are we obsessed with pinpointing inspiration in fiction?
Huma Qureshi is an award-winning author and journalist. Her memoir How We Met: A Memoir of Love and Other Misadventures was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Indie Readers Award.
Her short story collection, Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love was longlisted for several awards. She has also worked and written for The Guardian and The Observer, among other publications. Today we’re discussing her debut novel, Playing Games.
You can also follow her Substack
.🎧 Listen to the episode on Spotify below or search ‘Better Words’ in your podcast player 🎧
Things we talked about
Our obsession as readers with knowing whether a novel is inspired by real-life
Where is the line between stealing a story and being inspired by it?
Huma's focus on creating a nuanced portrayal of sisters and their complicated relationship
How to represent the creative process on the page
The beauty of short stories and how it started Huma's journey to publication
Huma's creative writing courses and how it enhances her craft
Other recommendations
Before we chat with our featured author, we always share some other recommendations.
Caitlin recommends: Directed by James Burrows: Five Decades of Stories from the Legendary Director of Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, and More
A fascinating look behind the scenes of some of the most iconic TV sitcoms including Cheers, Frasier and Friends.
Michelle recommends: Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
An emotional journey as a young Irish woman chooses between two lives in the 1950s. One of Michelle's all-time favourites – what did she think of it six years on from first reading it?
- Caitlin & Michelle
🎧 Search ‘Better Words’ in your favourite podcast player to get new episodes as soon as they’re live. We’ll be back with another episode next Wednesday! 🎧