Caught in the Crosshairs

Leila Aboulela and V. V. Ganeshananthan

12:30pm

Saturday, September 30

60 mins

Two authors exploring the fallout of war and the impact on those caught in the crosshairs come together to discuss the legacy of violence, loyalty to home and the necessity of self-reliance. In unmissable conversation, Leila Aboulela and V. V. Ganeshananthan delve into the tension between coloniser and colonised and the struggle to find individual identity when your nation’s identity is under siege. In Aboulela’s River Spirit, a girl comes of age against the bloody and oppressive backdrop of the British conquest of Sudan and the subsequent struggle for independence. In Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night, a young woman determined to become a doctor is thrown off course when the three-decade Sri Lankan civil war unfolds around her.

Moderated by Aparitha Bandari.

This event will be followed by a book signing.

Conversation

How to attend

$39.99

Single Day Pass

$69.99

Weekend Pass

$249.99

Full Festival Pass

Students and youth save up to 50% on passes.

Moderated by Aparitha Bandari.

This event will be followed by a book signing.

Conversation

Featured Authors

Leila Aboulela

Leila Aboulela is the first-ever winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. Nominated three times for the Orange Prize (now the Women's Prize for Fiction), she is the author of numerous novels, including The Kindness of Enemies, The Translator, Minaret and Lyrics Alley, which was Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards. Her work has been translated into 15 languages. She grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and now lives in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Read more about Leila Aboulela

V. V. Ganeshananthan

V. V. Ganeshananthan (she/her) is the author of the novels Brotherless Night (a New York Times Editors’ Choice) and Love Marriage, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize and named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times and The Best American Nonrequired Reading, among others. A former vice president of the South Asian Journalists Association, she has also served on the board of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and is presently a member of the boards of the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies and the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. She teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota and co-hosts the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast on Literary Hub, which is about the intersection of literature and the news.