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To kick off Refugee Week 2025, we are delighted to host an evening of poetry readings from poets published by The Other Side of Hope.
Click here to register your free place
The Other Side of Hope is the UK’s only literary magazine edited by migrants and refugees platforming migrants’ and refugees’ writing – it is also the UK’s first Magazine of Sanctuary.
Feel free to eat your dinner or enjoy a glass of wine during this free online event.
Hosted by the Other Side of Hope editorial team, we will be joined by the following poets and writers:
Snehal Amembal
A freelance writer and poet based in Surrey (UK). Her writing primarily reflects her
motherhood journey, memories of her own childhood and the essence of everyday moments
which she tries to document on her Facebook page, ‘Notes on The Go’. She has authored three poetry chapbooks, Pause, I am, and In Between Love. Snehal’s debut memoirs PapaMa’s Portrait is due to be published this year.
Sirajul Islam
Poet, writer and human rights activist. He is Rohingya, originally from Myanmar. In 2017, he fled
to Bangledesh to seek refuge and escape the genocide carried out by the Myanmar military. He has internationally published two collections of poetry. Through poetry, he speaks truth to power, advocates for the rights of his people, strengthens the voice of his community, and brings the Rohingya plight on a global stage.
Shamim Azad
A full time writer, is well-known in the UK as one of the best poets in Bengali. She has so far published nearly 40 books from various genres, out of which 13 are collections of poetry. Her poems appeared in various literary magazines including The New Yorker, USA. In 2023, Azad received Bangladesh’s highest literary award in poetry – The Bangla Academy Literary Award. She also received the UK’s National Lottery Award and the Poet-in-Residence at ‘A Poet’s Agora’, Athens.
Dana Peleg
English/Hebrew author, poet and translator, as well as a peace activist from her youth, and an LGBTQ+ activist since her own coming out as bi/pansexual. Her short story collections (Figs, My Love, Shurfra, 2000; Wifee, Sial, 2015) and her debut novel, Giantess’ Hand (Catharsis Books, 2024), all published in Hebrew, depict the lives of queer women. She won in 2018 IBBY Certificate of Honor for her Hebrew translation of Anna and the Swallow Man by Gariel Savit. Israeli-born Peleg has been living in California with her partner and son since 2015.
Godwin Akinyele
Julia Veiga Copertino Niro
Alberto Quero
Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. He holds a Bachelor degree in Literature and Linguistics, a Master’s Degree in Literature and a PhD in Human Sciences from the University of Zulia. He is a teacher of English, French and Spanish as foreign languages. He has published six books of short stories, two books of poetry and numerous academic articles in the areas of literary semiotics and narratology. He has won several literary awards in narrative and poetry. His texts have been compiled into two anthologies by Venezuelan writers. He is a literary correspondent for Latin America at CKCU FM 93.1 in Ottawa, Canada
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