Nadia Attia

Nadia Attia is from a working-class mixed-heritage background (Egyptian-German) I’m passionate about stories that explore ‘otherness’ and characters who take the path less trodden; characters who might one day see their difference as a strength. I wrote stories, poems and plays as a child and turned my love of storytelling into a career when I became a filmmaker, then a freelance journalist and Editor and Copywriter at the BFI, and I now work with writer-directors as a BFI NETWORK Talent Executive. I took my writing to the next level when I won the Faber (FAB) prize for fiction and earned a place on the London Writers Awards.

I aspire to recreate the magic and escapism of the fairy tales I’ve loved since childhood, but I never shy away from pain and darkness – often relishing the gothic, liminal and more melancholy side to speculative fiction. My wonder for the natural world is something else that flavours my writing. In Verge I wanted ‘the wild’ to influence and permeate not just the landscapes but also the characters themselves as I explored the power of belief – inspired by British folklore and superstitions. In my debut novel I combined these interests with my frustration at the divisive nature of this post-Brexit world – how tensions are being needled and stoked due to ethnicity, wealth, belief or simply just lines on a map.

Published book:

Verge – 2023