interview with omair ahmedwinner of crossword vodafone awardjimmy the terrorist made it to the shortlist of the man asian literary prize and now the vodafone crossword awardhow does it feelit always feels good to get on a shortlist and even better to win no matter how selfconfident a writer is or how much support he or she receives from people close to them a validation from people you dont know and who are wellregarded as a jury generally is gives you a boost and steadies your nerves your novel is rooted in a politicalreligious context does your internalization in this milieu find reflection in this book or does it echo the narratives and situations all of us in this country now a part ofi presume you mean how my work as a political analyst journalist affects my writing and the simple answer is of course it has some effect but literature is different from nonfiction and the thing you most need for fiction is to try and figure out how people work how they think and feel all forms of activity can get you there franz kafka worked as a clerk for most of his life premchand as a primary schoolteacher and these are amongst the most influential writers of the last hundred years it is the insight that matters and your ability to capture it in words not how you get there your novel has struck a chord with many did you somewhere want to set off a debatediscourse with this work or this is a spinoff youre happy with but one that you hadnt thought of while penning this bookwhen you write about contemporary politics in any manner you have to be prepared that people will simply use your writing as a way to express their own opinions rather than engage with the story so yes and no yes because the issues of small town india the lives that are invisible in the usual writing or on tv are important to me and so it is good to hear them discussed no because many people are just making a point rather than engaging in a conversation given that these are sensitive times were living in how careful were you to confine your writing to a certain degree of political correctness and sensitivity if you will do writers have the patience or temperament to be bogged down by niceties or concerns such as thesethat is a difficult question with no easy answer as edward said showed in his work orientalism the persistent negative imagery about nonwestern countries made the job of colonialism easier casteist misogynist and racist stories have real consequences but so does the failure to examine sensitive issues i do not know how others deal with it but i have a core group of people whose opinion i deeply respect i ask for their opinion and they are kind enough to extend that sort of time and effort to helping me out i may