The One Book program is an annual, school-wide initiative designed to engage the community in a shared reading subject that includes a series of community events and academic and extracurricular programs. As the author of the 2023 One Book selection, Malik will join students, faculty, and staff in a discussion on fiction and how the novel captures the scope of speculative art and literature in Pakistan through a collection of short stories.
A renowned writer and novelist, Malik is the author of numerous award-winning short fiction and story collections, including The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family; The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn; and his debut collection, Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan. His speculative and fiction works have received and been nominated for other major international literary awards, including the Bram Stoker Award, the Crawford Award, and the British Fantasy Award.
This year’s selection for One Book, Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan, has won the Crawford Award 2022 and is a finalist for the Ignyte, World Fantasy, and Locus awards. It features a series of seven illustrations and horror stories drawn from fables, histories, and present Pakistani reality, including a story of a haunted Lahore-based orphanage for girls, one of two lovers who are set adrift amidst rising floodwaters in 1960s Old Lahore, and another of a woman chaperoning a school trip who faces ancient horrors in her search of missing boys.
“One Book is a Northwestern tradition that brings our community together through a common read and facilitates enriching academic, intellectual, and creative discourses on a shared subject beyond the classroom”
“This year’s One Book read by Usman T. Malik combines speculative fiction and creative narrative while tackling social, cultural, and political issues through various creative literary styles,” Sam Meekings, associate professor in residence at Northwestern Qatar and chair of the One Book program committee. “Malik’s visit is a chance to get into the mind of the author of this year’s One Book and further expand our community engagement with the book both in and outside the classroom.”
Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar, said, “One Book is a Northwestern tradition that brings our community together through a common read and facilitates enriching academic, intellectual, and creative discourses on a shared subject beyond the classroom.”
Malik joins a list of writers who addressed Northwestern Qatar as part of the One Book program, including Dina Nayeri, author of Refuge, Palestinian novelist Hala Alyan, author of Salt Houses, and Omani writer Jokha Alharthi, author of Celestial Bodies.
