Author Kishwar Desai, in conversation with author Rosemary Furber, discusses her debut novel Witness The Night and the issues surrounding the dark world of female infanticide in India, including the parallel and growing trend among the British Asian community. Witness The Night was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2009. This discussion will be followed by a Q&A with the author and a book-signing session.

About Witness The Night
In a small town in the heart of India, a young girl is found tied to a bed inside a townhouse where 13 people lie dead. The girl is alive, but she has been beaten and abused. She is held in the local prison, awaiting interrogation for the murders that the local police believe she has committed. Visiting social worker Simran attempts to break through the girl’s mute trance to find out what happened that terrible night. As she slowly uncovers the truth, Simran realises that she is caught in the middle of a terrifying reality where the unwanted female offspring of families are routinely disposed of. Highlighting one of the most distressing and shocking practices to blight a society and country, Witness the Night reveals a world redolent in oppression and murder through the eyes of a lonely 14 year old girl.

Reviews
“A thought-provoking tale [that] is certainly worth the read.” – The Guardian
“Very important themes [and a] very appealing central character.” – Jane Garvey, BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour
“Desai is to be commended for documenting a major social ugliness in unflinching detail and
producing a fluent page-turner in the process.” – Outlook Magazine

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Kishwar Desai lives in London with her husband, Lord Meghnad Desai. Kishwar has worked in print and broadcast media for the last thirty years as a journalist, scriptwriter, TV anchor, producer and the head of a TV channel in India. Her first non-fiction book, Darlingji: The True Love Story of Nargis and Sunil Dutt, was published in 2007.

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Author Event
Kishwar Desai
14 Oct, 7pm

Entrance Fee: £5
Concession: £3**
** Students, retirees and unemployed
Note: Entrance fee includes a glass of wine and ticket is redeemable for a £2 off purchase of the author's book