Awais Khan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Durham University. He has studied creative writing with Faber Academy. His debut novel, In the Company of Strangers, was published to much critical acclaim and he regularly appears on TV and Radio. Awais also teaches a popular online creative writing course to aspiring writers around the world. He is currently working on his third book. When not working, he has his nose buried in a book.
Please enjoy our interview with Awais Khan.
What are you reading at the moment?
I like to read several books at the same time. At the moment, I am readingFamily of Liars by E. Lockhart, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton and No One Home by Tim Weaver.
What’s your earliest memory of reading?
I think my earliest memory is of reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It belonged to an older cousin, and I had wanted to read it for the longest time. I think I badgered her so much that she finally capitulated and let me read it.
I think young people should be reading whatever they can get their hands on, but if I had to choose one book, it would be A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. That novel is an exercise in empathy and the power of patience. I loved reading it.
Can you remember the first story you ever wrote?
I don’t think I can remember at this point, but I’m sure it was either about my first holiday or first day of school or how dinosaurs returned to the world. I used to be a huge fan of dinosaurs (I still am!)
What two pieces of advice would you give a young aspiring writer?
My first piece of advice would be that they should read as much as possible. If you’re not a reader, then you simply cannot be a writer. Read whatever you can get your hands on. My second piece of advice would be to have a thick skin. Being a writer means having work that you’ve poured your soul into turned down time and again. The publishing industry is ruthless. It doesn’t care for your sweat, blood and tears. Hence, you need to be ruthless in return and have skin that is thick enough to endure any and every turndown.
In the Company of Strangers is a look into the glittering lives of Pakistan’s elite. I felt that there wasn’t a lot of commercial fiction coming out of Pakistan and I wanted to change that. I also felt that Pakistan was perceived as a volatile and lawless country by many people in the West, and I desperately wanted to change that as well.
What books do you feel are important reading for people on your career path and why?
I think any book that you can get your hands on is good enough. However, if one is writing in a certain genre then reading books in that genre is always helpful. For example, if you’re writing crime fiction, then reading authors like Lee Child, Martina Cole and James Patterson would do you well. I have read a lot of books on writing as well. Some that have stuck with me over the years are On Writing by Stephen King and The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler.
Is there a book that you’ve read more than once? What is it and why did you revisit it?
Yes, Harry Potter. I’ve probably read that series dozens of times. I remember that I used to sneak away during recess in school and reread Harry Potter. I did the same when I was at home. Once I lost track of time so badly that I ended up reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in the bathroom for hours, and didn’t realize it until I got a scolding from my mother.
Out by Natsuo Kirino, This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab, Better Confess by Alan Gorevan, What I Hid From You by Heleen Kist, The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith and She’s Mine by A.A. Chaudhuri.
Who would you say are the three writers that continue to inspire you?
Faiqa Mansab, because she is easily one of Pakistan’s most erudite voices and continues to write meaningful literature that has a great deal of social impact. Her novel This House of Clay and Water by Faiqa Mansab is a feast for the senses and is simply not to be missed.
A.A. Chaudhuri, because she’s like a machine when it comes to writing kickass crime fiction and psychological thrillers. I don’t know how she does it, but the fact that she keeps on producing compelling work is very inspiring for me. I am a slow writer, so I spend most of my time thinking of ways to steal some of her magic.
Eve Smith, because she is way ahead of her time. I think that in a hundred years, people will look back at Eve’s work and realize that she was right all along. Her books are intriguing literary thrillers that are impossible to put down, but more than that, they are also a wakeup call for the world, and a frightening glimpse of the kind of world we will be leaving for our children.
Is there an author whose writing you’re such a fan of, that you’ll read everything they release?
Yes, there is. I am a huge fan of Alan Gorevan’s work and I literally devour whatever he writes. I remember discovering his work in 2020 when I came across The Kindness of Psychopaths on social media. I haven’t looked back since. I ended up finishing Better Confess in a single sitting and then proceeded to buy all his books. I’ve read each of them cover to cover. If you like reading unputdownable, immersive books, then Alan Gorevan is the author for you. Go ahead and buy his books. You can thank me later.
What is the book that you feel has had the single biggest impact on your life? What impact did it have?
It wasn’t the book as much as the character that had a huge impact on me. I was a bit of a nerd in school and could usually be found in the school library with my nose buried in a book. I used to be ashamed of that, always wishing to be one of the cool kids with their cool gangs and smartass one-liners. It wasn’t until I read about Hermione Granger in Harry Potter that I realized that being a nerd could be cool too. So, in a way, it was Hermione rather than the book itself that had a great impact on me.
Everything! I love reading crime fiction and psychological thrillers, so I’m hoping to be able to read Alan Gorevan’s next novel as well as A.A. Chaudhuri’s. I am also looking forward to reading more books from Vaseem Khan, Abir Mukherjee, Eve Smith, Aliya Ali Afzaal, Nigel Jay Cooper, Sonia Velton, Faiqa Mansab, Osman Haneef, Rob Parker, Heleen Kist, Marion Todd, Victoria Dowd, Paul Waters and many more.
Thanks to Gabriella Braun’s stunning book All That We Are, I am planning on reading more non-fiction too.
If you were to write an autobiography – what would it be called?
The Unsatisfying Life of Awais Khan.