Join us at The Common Press for an evening of readings and conversation exploring queer love, longing, and intimacy through the lens of debut fiction. Featuring José Daniel Alvior (Seven Days in Tokoyo), Zahra Barri (Daughters of the Nile), and Iqbal Hussain (Northern Boy), this event brings together three exciting new voices who are reshaping how queer desire is written, felt, and imagined.
From forbidden romance and fractured family dynamics to satirical takes on modern relationships, each writer offers a unique lens on queer experience — playful, painful, joyful, and bold. Through readings from their novels and a chaired discussion, we’ll delve into questions of identity, cultural context, shame, liberation, and the politics of love.
@José Daniel Alvior
Named after each of his grandfathers, José Daniel is a writer from Quezon City, the Philippines. At the turn of the century he moved to New York City, a childhood dream he had been fortunate to live for twenty years. There he met his unapologetically English partner who introduced him to the gentle summers of Bath and the beauty of the surrounding countryside. When the days get shorter and the temperature drops, however, he longs for a deserted stretch of white beach in one of the many islands of his motherland. He splits his time in all three places.
@Zahra Barri
Zahra Barri is an Irish-Egyptian writer and stand-up comedian. Growing up in Saudi Arabia and attending both Muslim and Catholic schools has given her a unique insight into living in multiple religious environments. She has featured on Channel 4’s Jokes Only A Muslim Can Tell, BBC Radio and BBC Asian Network. In 2020 she was named a runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished Prize and she is currently doing a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Hertfordshire. Her work is supported by the Society of Authors. She lives in Rochester, Kent.
@Iqbal Hussain
Iqbal Hussain is a writer from Blackburn, Lancashire and he lives in London. His work appears in various anthologies and on websites including The Willowherb Review, The Hopper and caughtbytheriver. He is a recipient of the inaugural London Writers’ Awards 2018 and he won Gold in the Creative Future Writers’ Awards 2019. In 2022, he won first prize in Writing Magazine’s Grand Flash competition and was joint runner-up in the Evening Standard Short Story Competition. In 2023, his story ‘I’ll Never Be Young Again’ won first prize in the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature short story competition. He was also Highly Commended in the Emerging Writer Award from The Bridge Award. Northern Boy is his first novel.