Books

Before She Sleeps

This dystopian novel from one of Pakistan’s most talented writers is a modern-day parable, The Handmaid’s Tale about women’s lives in repressive Muslim countries everywhere. It takes the patriarchal practices of female seclusion and veiling, gender selection, and control over women’s bodies, amplifies and distorts them in a truly terrifying way to imagine a world of post-religious authoritarianism.

Delphinium Books 2018 (in paperback August 2019)

Praise for Before She Sleeps

“Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale won’t want to miss this one” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A fascinating new angle on emotional labour” – Margaret Atwood on Twitter

“Well-crafted feminist dystopian fiction” – Tor.com

“An overdue enlargement of the cultural conversation that Atwood’s novel continues to provoke.” – Kirkus Reviews

“An important addition to the genre of feminist dystopian fiction. ” – Strange Horizons

Also published in Germany by Golkonda Verlag as Die Geschichte der schweigenden Frauen

Coming soon from Pan Macmillan India (November 2019); rights sold for the Indian Subcontinent, the UAE, and the UK

Coming soon from Ecsik Parka Yaniyevi as O Umayadan Once

A Season For Martyrs

Delphinium Books 2014
ASFM

The story of Sindh, modern and ancient, seen through the eyes of Ali Sikander, a Pakistani television reporter assigned to cover the return of Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Amidst deadly terrorist attacks and protest marches, this contemporary narrative thread weaves in flashbacks that chronicle the deep and beautiful tales of Pakistani history, of the mythical gods who once protected this land.

Available at: all bookstores in the United States; on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Harper Collins, Kobo; and Liberty Books in Pakistan.

Praise for A Season For Martyrs

“Riveting and articulate” Buzzfeed, “10 Amazing Female Novelists Under 50”

“In A Season for Martyrs Shah’s characters navigate that tenuous space between worlds beautifully.” The Toronto Review of Books

“A Season for Martyrs becomes a haunting, memorable homage—to Sindh, to Bhutto, to the unnamed martyrs of a beautiful land.” New Indian Express

“We suspect she will continue to inform, inspire and – most importantly – bring her two worlds, Pakistan and America, together.” – India.com

“A complex and captivating novel” – Asialyst.com

“Shah writes with grace and fluency.” — Muftah.org

“Good reading, urgently and cleanly told, for those interested in world events, as well as issues of identity and place in community.” — Library Journal, “Top Indie Fiction for Fall 2014”

“Bina Shah is an admirable writer” – BAPSI SIDHWA, author of Cracking India

“Listen to the voice of Bina Shah–you will hear a young, confident, compassionate new Pakistan” – PROFESSOR AKBAR AHMED, author, playwright, poet, and Chair of Islamic Studies at American University

“Shah’s novel is both fascinating and eye-opening.” – Publishers Weekly

reine

Published in France as
La Huitieme Reine
Actes Sud 2016

Slum Child

Westland Tranquebar 2010
altcover

Laila, a young Pakistani Christian girl, lives in Karachi’s poorest quarter, Issa Colony. The grim circumstances of Laila’s life are counter-balanced by her energy, vitality and determination to survive. Slum Child is the story of a girl forced to run alone, strong and courageous, to a future that cannot deny her happiness.

Available at all bookstores in India, on Amazon, and at Liberty Books in Pakistan.

Also published in Italian as
La Bambina Che Non Poteva Sognare
Newton Compton 2008
bambinacover