Students win literary award

Both will have their stories published in an anthology of “non fiction personal accounts of the experience of immigration“ to Britain, later this year.

Nina Joshi recalls her immigration from “sunny, equatorial“ Kenya to “sometimes sunny“ England in A Leaky Roof in London, and Ali Sheikholeslami's story The Gentleman of Reigate is about his arrival in the UK from Iran to study at Brunel.

They are among 16 winners of the prize, backed by Penguin Books and Arts Council England, whose work will appear in a collection of short stories entitled Volume 2: Personal Tales of Immigration to Britain.
Nina Joshi, who graduated from Brunel 14 years ago - in computer sciences - and is now studying for a Master's degree in Creative Writing: The Novel, said: “I've learned that it's necessary to be able to submit a piece of work even if I didn't think it was perfect.“
She added: “I'm looking forward to reading the other 15 stories in the anthology.“


Iranian Ali Sheikholeslami, who left his job as a project manager in Tehran, to study for a Master's degree in Creative and Professional Writing, commented: “As a new writer, I don't know what will happen to my work when it's finished, so if it's published, it's a confirmation that I've done a good job.

“I really enjoyed receiving the news, I cherished it,“ he added.

The first anthology of the Decibel Penguin prize-winners' stories, Volume 1: New Voices from A Diverse Culture was published last year.

Both Nina and Ali hope to graduate this year.

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