Priya Basil Biography and latest books by Priya Basil

Priya Basil (born 1977 in London, England) is a British author. she spent most of her life away from the metropolis.  She grew up in Kenya returning to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Bristol. She had a brief career in advertising before becoming a fulltime writer. She currently divides her time between London and Berlin.

In 2010 Priya, and the journalist Matthias Fredrich-Auf der Horst, initiated Authors for Peace. It is intended to be a platform from which writers can actively use literature in different ways to promote peace.

Her work

Her first novel, Ishq and Mushq, was published in 2007. Ishq and Mushq is a family saga which highlights the problem of cultural identity for immigrants over several generations, and raises questions of memory, exile and self-rediscovery. Ishq and Mushq came second in the World Book Day "Book to Talk About 2008" competition. The novel was also short-listed for a Commonwealth Writers\' Prize, and long-listed for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Ishq and Mushq was translated into Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, and Serbian. Ishq and Mushq was currently translated into Italian: Profumo Di Spezie Proibite

Her second novel, The Obscure Logic of the Heart, was published in June 2010. The Obscure Logic of the Heart expands the theme of immigration. It tells the love story between the Muslim Lina and the liberal Kenyan architecture student, Anil. Both are second-generation immigrants residing in London. Due to their different backgrounds, Lina\'s relationship is in stark opposition to her parents\' wishes, forcing her to make a choice between her family and her love. The Obscure Logic of the Heart is currently translated into Italian and German.

Priya\'s short novel Strangers on the 16:02 is published on the 17th February 2011 as a Quick Read. It’s a hot crowded train. Helen and Kerm are jammed together in a crowded carriage. Then noisy school kids fill the train—and three of them are about to cause a whole heap of trouble. Catching a train? Read Strangers on the 16.02 and you will never feel the same way about your fellow passengers again.

Personal life

Priya grew up in Kenya, returning to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Bristol. She had a career in advertising before becoming a full time writer. In 2010 Priya, and the journalist Matthias Fredrich-Auf der Horst, initiated Authors for Peace. It is intended to be a platform from which writers can actively use literature in different ways to promote peace. The first event by Authors for Peace took place on 21 September 2010, the UN\'s International Day of Peace. With the support of the International Literature Festival Berlin, Priya hosted a 24hour-live-online-reading by 80 authors from all over the world. The authors read from their work in a gesture of solidarity with those who are oppressed or caught in conflict. Priya lives in London and Berlin.