Photo credit: Aliyah Otchere
Hi, I’m Huma Qureshi. Award-winning author and creator of inspiring online writing courses.
Welcome. I’m so glad you’ve found your way here.
What does writing mean to me? It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do, for as long as I can remember. In many ways, it feels more natural than talking. Writing feeds my curiosity. I love language – its nuances, the way it ebbs and flows, the poetry of it all. I love that writing demands precision, that it asks something of me. And when I’m able to do it, the satisfaction I feel when I hit my stride… well, there’s nothing like it.
Stories have always been there for me when I needed them. They move me. They make me think, laugh and cry. Stories always help me understand something about other people, myself, or the world around me. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to do this for my readers, in turn.
My Story
I’m the author of Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love (Sceptre) and How We Met: A Memoir of Love and Other Misadventures (Elliott & Thompson), both published to critical acclaim in 2021. My first book, In Spite of Oceans, received the John C. Laurence award from The Authors’ Foundation in 2015.
In 2022, How We Met was shortlisted in the Books Are My Bag Indie Book Awards, while Things We Do Not Tell The People We Love was longlisted for both The Jhalak Prize Book of The Year and The Edge Hill Prize for excellence in a single authored short story collection. My fourth book, my debut novel, will be published with Sceptre in 2023.
It feels quite surreal to list these achievements because it took me years to build the confidence I needed to believe in my writing. Although I spent many years working as a staff journalist for the Guardian, Observer and a freelance writer for other well-knownpublications, it wasn’t until I found the courage to start entering short story prizes that I began to realise my creative writing meant something after all. My words resonated. They moved people. I finally saw their value. In 2020, I won the Harper’s Bazaar short story prize. Suddenly, all sorts of doors that had previously felt closed to me began to open up.
My Online Writing Courses
My writing journey, and the things I experienced along the way, inspired my collection of online writing courses, Miniature Worlds: The Craft of Short Story Writing, Postcards Home and The Quiet Words. From time to time, I also offer one-to-one mentoring (currently through Curtis Brown Creative) and teach with Guardian Masterclasses.
Writing is all I’ve ever done and all I’ve ever known. I love the craft, but I’ve also experienced my fair share of writer’s block. My courses are the cure I created to help me fall back in love with words again. They’re designed to open your heart and mind and let the words flow. They are my love letters to the beauty of words, and the power of storytelling.
It brings me deep joy and satisfaction to support people who don’t feel they can call themselves writers even though they are. It’s an honour to walk alongside them as they find their voices and grow in confidence. Whether you aspire to enter short story competitions, write a book or simply find a way to write whatever’s on your heart, either for a blog or in a journal for your eyes only, my courses will inspire you to grow and flourish as the writer you already are.
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