Muslim Writers Awards is an annual British award ceremony, which aims to recognise, showcase and celebrate literary talent within the UK's Muslim community. It was established in 2006, with the Young Muslim Award category established in 2010.
Now into its fourth year, the Muslim Writers Awards was put together to showcase and celebrate the very best of literary talent from Muslims across the UK.
Premise
According to the founders of the Muslim Writers Awards, Imran Akram and Faraz Yousufzai, the goal of the Muslim Writers Awards "is to nurture that talent, bring it to the attention of the wider world and then celebrate it. We want to give Muslim writers confidence in their abilities and offer a platform to communicate their experiences and creativity through the power of the pen." The motto for the awards is: "Share stories, come together. It's time, Write Now!"
2007 event
Birmingham Libraries worked on a creative writers project with writers of Muslim backgrounds. They provided writers with an e-portal where writers can upload their work of any genre online – www.publishingbirmingham.com. They aimed to offer writers the opportunity to develop themselves and earn income from their writing.
To celebrate the work and contribution of British writers, On 28 March 2007, the first annual Muslim Writers Awards took place at the Library Theatre in Birmingham. At the event, Muslim speakers and writers including Qaisra Shahraz, Moazzem Begg, Salma Yaqoob and Faraz Yousufzai spoke about their experiences on getting published.
2008 event
After 10,000 submissions of work was received in 12 months, on 29 March 2008, the second Muslim Writers Awards event took place on at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham.
The event was organised by Aston-based not-for-profit company Innovate Arts CIC in partnership with Birmingham Libraries, the Islam Channel, which broadcast the ceremony, Yorkshire Bank and Radisson SAS, and it was hosted by Birmingham Mail blogger Faraz Yousufzai.
The ceremony attracted support from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, local government and celebrity advocates. It was attended by more than 1,000 people including the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and guest of honour Jermaine Jackson, whilst James Caan, who was unable to make the event, greeted the audience with a video message.
The ceremony was broadcast live to millions of viewers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East by Islam Channel.
Eight awards were handed out to winners, following a review of the 10,000 entries by a panel of independent judges. Winner of the Writer of the Year 2008 Award was 38-year-old Aliya Vaughan from Brixton in London. She was also the recipient of the Best Children's Story Award. The Published Writer of the Year 2008 was former Guntanamo detainee, and Birmingham bookstore owner, Moazzam Begg. In addition, Fatima Martin won the novel award and Solihull writer Kashif Choudry won the Short Story Writer Award. A total of 26 Muslim writers, including novelists, poets, under 16s and journalists, competed for the prizes in the eight categories.
2009 event
On 27 May 2009, the third Muslim Writers awards took place at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London in partnership with publishers group Penguin Group.
2010 event
Submissions for the Muslim Writers Awards 2010 event were open from 15 September 2009 to 5 February 2010.
In addition, a new category was announced — the Young Muslim Writers Awards.
2011 event
On 22 November 2011, the fifth Muslim Writers Awards took place at Shakespeare's Globe in London. The event was supported by Muslim Hands and sponsored by the Penguin Group, Puffin Books, Islam Channel and the Brit Writers Awards. Singer Dawud Wharnsby performance poet zkthepoet performed at the event. Guests included authors Aamer Hussein, Roopa Farooki, Irfan Master and Shelina Zahra Janmohamed amongst wider literary and publishing industry figures.