Kia Abdullah (27) is an author and journalist from London. She has written two novels, 'Life, Love and Assimilation' (2006) and 'Child's Play' (2009), a dark psychological thriller that challenges the delicate sensibilities and stereotypes that seem to govern output from British-Asian writers. Abdullah contributes to a variety of popular programmes, from BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show to Channel 4 News. She writes for numerous publications in her typically subversive style, and is one of the youngest journalists to write comment for the Guardian newspaper.

Abdullah is the seventh of nine children (one of whom died shortly after birth in 1974). She has been married twice: first an arranged marriage that lasted two days, the second a 'love marriage' to her boyfriend of four years (who incidentally was the boy next door). This marriage ended after eight months when she found out he was chasing another woman behind her back.

The five things that have shaped her the most are: growing up in a violent household with a drug addict brother, the arranged marriage she left at 24, losing her father in 2007, travelling, and falling in love. She's a firm believer that you need to experience the lows of life to truly appreciate the highs. A 2008 blog entry reads: "Pain just lets us know we're alive and I'd rather that than live life on a happy but uneventful plateau."

During a trip to Bangladesh in 1995, Abdullah indulged in a honey sandwich in the near-darkness (oil lamps being the only source of light in the absence of electricity). When her brother passed by with a torch, she noticed small black dots in her bread. After looking closer, she found that the honey pot was swarming with ants and, yes, were in her half-eaten sandwich. Incidentally, the very same trip turned her into a vegetarian, which she has been for the past 14 years!

Click here to read 'Muslim Writer releases violent, sexual psychological crime thriller'
Click here to read about Kia Abdullah's book 'Child's Play'

Visit www.kia-abdullah.com for further information.

Profile Updated: 4 November 2009

Top