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Scholastic joins forces with Untold for diary of Afghan women
Scholastic is partnering with a Untold Narratives, a development programme for writers marginalised by community or conflict, to publish a collection of stories and diary excerpts written by Afghan women over the past year.
Executive editor Leah James acquired world rights in all languages to Rising After the Fall: Afghan Women Share their Stories from Amy St Johnston at Aitken Alexander Associates. It will be fully illustrated by an Afghan illustrator, and Zarghuna Kargar will translate and edit the text with Lucy Hannah, director of Untold. Contributors will write under pseudonyms, and the collection will be published in June 2023.
Formatted as a diary and aimed at readers aged eight and over, the book will feature extracts from real-life diaries, giving an insight into the experiences of Afghan women during and immediately after the fall of Kabul. Each “entry” will help to provide readers with a better understanding of life under Taliban rule and as a refugee. Every chapter includes diary excerpts and fact boxes including information on different aspects of life in Afghanistan, both before and after the current regime took over the country in August 2021.
Untold produced an acclaimed anthology for adults, My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: New Fiction by Afghan Women, earlier this year. “Rising After the Fall: Afghan Women Share their Stories will offer children personal and compelling snapshots of a region’s upheaval from a woman’s perspective, during and immediately after the recent fall of Kabul," Hannah said. "Untold is delighted to be working with Scholastic to help to bring children a better understanding of life in Afghanistan during this turbulent period.”
James added: “At a time when Afghan women’s voices are being silenced, it is more important than ever to share their stories. We are proud to be working with Untold on Rising After the Fall: Afghan Women Share their Stories to shine a light on women’s experiences of life in the country and from those now living as refugees.”
