Visiting Writers Series Hosts Author Kamila Shamsie

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AMHERST, Mass.— The University of Massachusetts Amherst MFA for Poets and Writers presents a reading by Kamila Shamsie (MFA'98) on Thursday, Oct. 17 at
8 p.m. in Old Chapel.

Kamila Shamsie is the author of seven novels, which have been translated into over 20 languages. Her most recent novel, Home Fire, won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, which was long listed for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for eight other awards. Burnt Shadows was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and also won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in the U.S. and the Premio Boccaccio Literary Award in Italy. Three of her novels have won awards from Pakistan’s Academy of Letters. Her first novel, In the City by the Sea, was Shamsie’s MFA thesis at UMass Amherst. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and one of Granta’s ‘Best of Young British Novelists,’ Shamsie grew up in Karachi, Pakistan and now lives in London.

Novelist Jeff Parker, who directs the UMass Amherst MFA Program, says of Shamsie, "What an honor it is to have a distinguished MFA program alum returning to read in the Visiting Writers Series. Kamila Shamsie is one of world literature's most necessary voices, and we're looking forward to celebrating her at this homecoming."

Celebrating its fifty-fifth year, the nationally renowned Visiting Writers Series at UMass Amherst presents emerging and established writers of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The Series is sponsored by the MFA for Poets and Writers and the Juniper Initiative, and made possible by support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the University of Massachusetts Arts Council and the English department.

All events are free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible. Guests are asked to RSVP on the Facebook events page. The reading will be followed by a book signing and refreshments.